Zhenis Kuspan refused to sign a non-disclosure agreement

On February 14, on the first day after the disease and quarantine, journalist and blogger Zhenis Kuspan came on a summons to to the investigator Asylbek Rysmakhanbetov, senior police lieutenant of the Baikonur police station of Nur-Sultan to be interrogated as a witness.

The journalist supposed that the grounds for the summons was his Facebook post warning about fake information (see http://www.adilsoz.kz/news/show/id/3517 ). Although the investigator did not specify the criminal charges that laid behind  investigation, but was obviously article 274 - “Dissemination of knowingly false information”.

 Kuspan was recognised a protected witness. The journalist refused to be interrogated in absence of a lawyer. He also refused to sign a non-disclosure agreement, insisting that it was his constitutional right to talk about what was happening to him. He emphasied that he did not disclose state secrets, any family, personal and other secrets and was not going to do that in the future.

When Kuspan was adviced by  phone by the Adil Soz expert, investigator A. Rysmakhanbetov asked to  give the phone to him for providing explanations. But  he just swithced off the phone instead. Then police tried to seize Kuspan's phone, but he demanded that to be done at the presence of witnesses and documented. His demand was fulfilled.

The next interrogation is scheduled for February 15.