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.” Five activists who separately came out in Yensebek’s support were also jailed or fined. [Read more here.]
Kazakhstan’s Constitutional Court reviewed on January 20 the law on organizing and holding peaceful assemblies and found it in compliance with the Constitution. Meanwhile the authorities denied permission to hold a feminist rally and detained a number of activists. Several human rights defenders and activists have repeatedly criticized the 2020 law, which essentially limits the right to freedom of assembly. [Read more here.]
On January 22, Yedil Zhanbyrshin, a deputy from the Amanat ruling party, said US President Donald Trump’s executive order proclaiming there are only two genders further validates the move to discriminate against the LGBT+ community through legislative actions in Kazakhstan. Emboldened by Trump’s ‘two gender policy’, Kazakhstan’s lawmakers are now pushing to ban so-called “LGBT propaganda.” [Read more here.]
New airports at three resort areas across Kazakhstan will be built by 2026, the ministry of transport told Vlast on January 24. The resort areas at Katon-Karagay, Zaysan, and Kenderli will be served by airports that can serve light aircrafts at an initial stage, the ministry noted.
During Kazakhstan’s periodic review at the Human Rights Council in Geneva on January 23, the UK’s Human Rights Ambassador, Eleanor Sanders listed a number of proposals for reform, including a call for “revising the definition of extremism in national legislation and removing those convicted of nonviolent crimes from the Financing Terrorism List.” Several activists have been accused and charged with extremism in recent years.
The Astana Court of Appeal upheld on January 23 the decision to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a group of journalists against Kazakhstan’s ministry of culture and information regarding a restrictive provision in the new law on mass media. A panel of judges confirmed a court sentence from last November that dismissed the journalists’ claim that the new law would threaten the work of journalists. [Read more here.]
Kazakhstan’s deputy Prime Minister, Roman Sklyar, met with Gazprom chief Alexey Miller in St. Petersburg on January 21 to discuss cooperation in the natural gas industry. Among the topics of discussion was the development of gas infrastructure that would annually handle 45 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas annually, of which 10 bcm for local consumption and 35 bcm for transit to China.
US oil major Chevron issued a statement on January 24 announcing the start of production from its Future Growth Project at the Tengiz oil field in western Kazakhstan. Through a joint venture with other transnational companies and state-owned Kazmunaigas, Chevron has pumped oil at Tengiz since 1993. Announced in 2016, FGP, an expansion project that will increase production volumes, cost the joint venture around $47 billion.
Businessman Nurlan Artykbayev bought Jusan Bank’s stake in the state telecoms operator Kazakhtelecom, according to data published at Kazakhstan’s Stock Exchange (KASE) on January 24. Telecom Systems LTD, owned by Artykbayev, now holds an 8.1% stake in Kazakhtelecom. Artykbayev also owns real estate developer Qazaq Stroy.
English football club Chelsea will pay more than €4 million ($4.2 million) for the transfer of Dastan Satpayev, a young footballer playing in Almaty’s Kairat. Born in 2008, Satpayev will join the London-based club once he turns 18, on a five-year contract with an option to extend his stay. This marks a record transfer for a Kazakhstani football player.
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