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20 января 2025
Paolo Sorbello, photo by Olga Loginova

Kazakhstan’s Police Detains Editor of Satirical Media

Two supporters who had come out calling for his release were also arrested

Kazakhstan’s Police Detains Editor of Satirical Media

Police in Almaty arrested Temirlan Yensebek, the creator of QazNews24, a satirical news site, on the evening of January 17, sparking protests from media and civil society activists.

The following day, the court placed Yensebek in pre-trial detention for two months, saying he is under suspicion of “inciting ethnic hatred.”

On January 19, Ruslan Biketov, a journalist, staged a solo protest outside Almaty’s National Opera and Ballet Theater holding a placard that said: “My country is terminally ill. World help save my country, help us become a democracy. Free Temirlan, free Kazakhstan.” He was immediately arrested and put in administrative detention for 15 days.

The following day, journalist and activist Assem Zhapisheva held another protest in Yensebek’s support and was also immediately stopped by the police. A local court ordered that Zhapisheva serve in administrative detention for 15 days.

Zhapisheva carried a poster that said: “Satire is not a crime” and shouted “freedom!” as she was being detained. Other activists who had come in solidarity also called for the release of Yensebek and the detained protesters.

In 2021, Yensebek was already suspected of disseminating deliberately false information and his home was searched. That incident led to the launch of the online campaign, “Satire is not a crime.”

Karlygash Zhamankulova, the head of media watchdog Adil Soz, said the charges against Yensebek are worrisome. Yensebek could risk two-to-seven years of restriction of freedom or imprisonment according to the charges.