Kazakhstan: pro-democracy defender handed down 7-year jail term (Update)
Event- Country
- Kazakhstan
- Initial Date
- Nov 29, 2023
- Event Description
A court in Astana on November 29 sentenced the chairman of Kazakhstan's unregistered Algha Kazakhstan (Forward Kazakhstan) party, Marat Zhylanbaev, to seven years in prison after finding him guilty of taking part in a banned group's activities and financing an extremist group. Zhylanbaev rejected the charges against him, calling them politically motivated. He has been on a hunger strike since late October protesting against a court decision to hold his trial, which started on November 1 behind closed doors. Human Rights Watch has urged the Kazakh authorities to immediately release Zhylanbaev.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly
- Freedom of association
- Freedom of expression
- Offline
- HRD
- Pro-democracy defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Event Location
Latitude: 43.25999823745321
Longitude: 76.93949154075062
- Event Location
- Summary for Publications
On 29 November 2023, Marat Zhylanbaev, detained pro-democracy defender and political prisoner, was sentenced to 7-year jail on multiple charges for his engagement on pro-democracy activities by a court in Almaty, Kazakhstan.