A court in Almaty issued on August 26 a non-custodial sentence against five defendants accused of “attempting to organize a mass riot” ahead of last year’s referendum about the construction of Kazakhstan’s first nuclear power plant.
Against Nurlan Zhaulibayev, Zhanat Kazakbay, Fazylzhan Syzdykov, Nurlan Temirgaliyev, and Aidar Mubarakov, the judge ordered four years of “restricted freedom” and a five-year ban on engaging in public activities.
The five had been in custody since September 29 last year. Then, the police had apprehended seven more people, all deemed activists that threatened public order.
Since the government announced earlier last year public hearings ahead of the referendum for the country’s first nuclear power plant, a number of local residents had expressed their doubts and disagreement.
Most of the hearings were conducted hurriedly and with little chance for opponents to share their views.
In a typical fashion, the authorities preventively detained 12 activists just days before the referendum, accusing them of “attempting to organize a mass riot,” a vague charge for which it is often difficult to prove innocence.
This is what the lawyers were tasked to prove. In some instances, the defendants were able to prove that they did not know each other ahead of their arrest, and thus could not have plotted to organize a riot.
“Are we really arguing that these pensioners could stage a coup?,” lawyer Yerkin Kakharov quipped in an interview with Vlast.
Seven defendants were released on bail, but the five were kept in custody. Their pre-trial detention was continuously extended until mid-July this year, when the trial began.
The August 26 judgement against the five is the mildest possible sentencing. They risked three to five years in prison.
Having served almost a year in custody, their four-year period of “restricted freedom” should be further discounted.
With reporting by Akbota Uzbekbay, Almas Kaisar, and Nazerke Kurmangazinova.
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