Makhambet Abzhan

Affiliated media: Telegram channel ABZHAN NEWS, Founder

Incident date: July 3, 2022

Attack type:

• Search with a court decree

Who attacked: Authorities

Source: Adil Soz

Location: Kazakhstan, Astana, Nur-Sultan

Additional information:

In the early morning of July 3, Makhambet Abzhan, the founder of the Telegram channel ABZHAN NEWS, was detained in Nur-Sultan. According to the anti-corruption service, the journalist is suspected of extorting KZT 50 million from a businessman for non-dissemination of defamatory information. According to the anti-corruption service, Abzhan was detained red-handed and taken to the temporary detention facility of the Nur-Sultan City Police Department. It is worth mentioning that the money was handed over in cash, and on the video that was promptly distributed the officers very expressively counted and put the bills in bags prepared in advance. On July 3, searches were conducted in the house where Makhambet Abzhan lived and in the house of his mother, during which the police seized personal smartphones.