Rishat Askarbekuly

Affiliated media: Azattyq Ruhy , Journalist

Incident date: June 9, 2020

Attack type:

Damage to / seizure of property, vehicles, equipment, documents, journalistic materials, print media circulation

Who attacked: Non-authorities

Location: Kazakhstan, Almaty Province, Almaty

Additional information:

On June 9, journalist Rishat Askarbekuly and his cameraman in a film crew from the news and analysis portal Azattyq Ruhu were attacked. This occurred near a car wash where the journalists had gone to ask people about a tragedy that had occurred during the night in a nearby home. At that time, a group of unidentified persons approached them. “They didn’t even demand that we leave but began to display aggression. Due to the fact that pressure on their part began to grow, I told them that I would call the police. At that moment, one of the women grabbed my telephone from my hands and threw it on the pavement full force. She threw herself at the cameraman and wanted to take away his camera,” said Rishat. The journalists called the police and wrote a statement regarding the attack. Journalists from Channel One Eurasia also submitted a statement to the police. The assailants tried to break their camera, tore a jacket and threatened reprisals.