Yermek Taichibekov
Affiliated media: Blogger
Incident date: August 19, 2021
Attack type:
- Court trial
Who attacked: Authorities
Source: Radio Azattyq
Location: Kazakhstan, Almaty Province, Almaty
Additional information:
On August 19, a court in Almaty sentenced blogger Yermek Taichibekov to 7 years in a penal colony. The court found Taichibekov guilty of inciting ethnic hatred using the media. The blogger denied the charges brought against him. Taichibekov was detained in September 2020, allegedly over an interview in which he criticized the national policy of the Kazakh authorities. Shortly before his detention, another interview was published in which the blogger spoke out about inter-ethnic clashes in the Korday district of the Zhambyl region. «In these interviews, he expressed his opinion and gave an assessment of the events. The expert examination stated that there were signs of inciting national hatred», — the lawyer said. — «A criminal case was opened in February [2020]. In September, he was arrested. All this time, the case was just ’hanging’».