Makhambet Abzhan

Affiliated media: Telegram channel ABZHAN NEWS, Journalist

Incident date: May 19, 2022

Attack type:

• Warnings, pre-trial complaints, questioning and other extra-judicial actions

Who attacked: Authorities

Source: Adil Soz

Location: Kazakhstan, Astana, Nur-Sultan

Additional information:

Journalist Makhambet Abzhan received a call from an investigator of the Baikonyr District Police Department in Nur-Sultan who reported that a criminal pre-trial investigation was opened against him on the complaint of a trusted representative of the Akmola Region Health Department under an article on the distribution of deliberately false information. As it turned out, the complaint was filed on April 7, 2022, because of the publication on March 25, 2022, on the Telegram channel ABZHAN NEWS about the non-payment of «covid» bonuses to doctors. A few hours after the first publication, the problem was resolved — the doctors received additional payments, which Abzhan immediately wrote about on his Telegram channel. On May 20, Makhambet Abzhan reported that the plaintiff had withdrawn his complaint from the police.