Journalist Ardak Yerubayeva found guilty of disobedience to police

On September 5, Judge Esdauir Muratkan of the Aktobe Specialized Inter-District Court for Administrative Cases announced the decision in the case of Nur.kz reporter Ardak Yerubayeva.

Lawyer Sisembay Delmanov stated in court  that the rights of his client were violated from the moment of detention - a lawyer was not provided, witnesses gave contradictory testimonies, and the video provided by the police as evidence turned out to be fragmentary. However, the video shows that the policemen did not introduce themselves, did not ask for a journalistic ID, did not explain the essence of obedience and disobedience, but immediately began to rounding Ardak up and grabed her mobile phone.

The judge declined the lawyer's request to watch the full version of the video evidence. Ardak Yerubayeva was found guilty of disobedience to a police officer (Article 667 part 1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses), she was issued a warning. The journalist intends to appeal against the decision of the court.

As it was reported, on August 31, the journalist tried to make a photo of the government motorcade of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov, but  was immediately grabbed by two men in civilian clothes, who did not introduce themselves and did not show their official IDs, and was taken to the police department, where she was kept for three hours.

According to the police, the journalist did not have media distinctive marks and run out of the crowd towards the motorcade of the guarded official. Ardak  said that she was standing in a row of civilians, did not run forward and was detained as soon as she raised her hand with a mobile phone to make a picture of the motorcade.