{"id":43062,"date":"2023-05-11T21:06:53","date_gmt":"2023-05-11T19:06:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/?p=43062"},"modified":"2023-08-18T18:55:07","modified_gmt":"2023-08-18T16:55:07","slug":"kazakhstan-two-activists-get-15-days-detention-for-peaceful-protests-against-unfair-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/kazakhstan\/kazakhstan-two-activists-get-15-days-detention-for-peaceful-protests-against-unfair-election\/","title":{"rendered":"Kazakhstan: two activists get 15-days detention for peaceful protests against \u201cunfair\u201d election"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>On May 6, two activists of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/oyanqazaqstankz\/\">\u201cOyan, Qazaqstan\u201d<\/a> (kaz. for \u201cWake up, Kazakhstan!\u201d) political movements <a href=\"https:\/\/rus.azattyq.org\/a\/32399793.html\">were detained<\/a> for protesting the election results. Both have been actively protesting in the past and were detained on the grounds of \u201cviolating the procedure for organising and holding peaceful assemblies\u201d for solitary pickets in November 2022 and March this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Held a protest, detained, released, detained again<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Vlada Yermolcheva has been demonstrating with a poster stating \u201cWe were robbed of elections\u201d in the central pedestrian street in Almaty on March 26, a week after the parliamentary election. She was swiftly detained that day, but later released. On May 6, police officers approached her in a cafe and demanded she follow them to a police station. On the night to May 7, she was found guilty of a violation of Article 488(7) of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Kazakhstan.<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"hp-newsletter col-span-3 lg:col-span-1 flex flex-col bg-primary-100 border-t-8 border-secondary-500 rounded-lg justify-center items-center lg:items-stretch px-6 py-6 gap-4 box-border\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"flex\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"enveloppe\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<i class=\"far fa-envelope text-5xl text-secondary-300\"><\/i>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"formulaire_nl\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"font-bold text-xl block\">The whole of Central Asia in your inbox\n<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSubscribe to our free weekly newsletter\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<form class=\"flex w-3\/4 lg:w-full\" action=\"https:\/\/us4.list-manage.com\/subscribe?u=6a15a2256d412b041fdec39e8&amp;id=d479236523\" method=\"post\" id=\"mc-embedded-subscribe-form\" name=\"mc-embedded-subscribe-form\" class=\"validate\" target=\"_blank\" novalidate=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<input class=\"flex-grow py-2 px-3 border border-primary-300 rounded-l\" type=\"email\" placeholder=\"Email\" name=\"EMAIL\" id=\"mce-EMAIL\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"bg-secondary-500 py-2 px-3 text-white rounded-r-md border border-secondary-500\" type=\"submit\" value=\"\" name=\"subscribe\">Register<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/form>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#\" class=\"underline text-secondary-700\">Click here for the latest issue\n<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><!-- newsletter -->\n\t\t\n\n\n\n<p>Darkhan Sharipov has also been detained for a protest on November 20, 2022. On the day of the presidential election, <a href=\"https:\/\/rus.azattyq.org\/a\/32138867.html\">a group of activists unfurled a banner<\/a> reading \u201cWill we live to (see) fair elections?\u201d on the main square in Almaty. All were detained by the police in less than ten minutes and released the same day without charge. On May 7, the night court found Sharipov guilty of a violation of Article 488(6).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Police and court violated the procedure<\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.the-village-kz.com\/village\/city\/situation\/30539-15-sutok-za-plakat\">his interview<\/a> to The Village Kazakhstan Yermolcheva\u2019s attorney, Talgat Miyermanov, pointed out numerous procedural violations. No document stating the time and date of Yermolcheva\u2019s first detention in March has been provided in the court materials. The detention report is dated 27 March \u2013 a day after the initial detention \u2013 but includes information from 19 April. Moreover, possible penalties stated in the law include a fine, an arrest is imposed only in exceptional cases \u2013 for instance, when a person has a previous conviction. The court, however, chose the harshest punishment \u2013 arrest with the maximum term, despite the fact that Yermolcheva had no criminal record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Penalties for peaceful assembly without permission<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Kazakhstan\u2019s law \u201cOn Peaceful Assemblies\u201d&nbsp; is heavily criticised by civil society for violating <a href=\"https:\/\/rus.azattyq.org\/a\/kazakhstan-human-rights-bill\/30431073.html\">the right of peaceful assembly<\/a>. While the Constitution grants the right to peacefully gather to all Kazakhstani citizens, and the Law states that it is sufficient to inform local authorities without obtaining explicit permission to organise a demonstration, in fact there is a very limited space where such gatherings could be held, and the organisers need to \u201cbook\u201d them in advance by the same city council, who has the ability to veto the assembly. For the mobile demonstrations such as rallies, notification is not enough \u2013 one has to apply for a written approval of the authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Read more on Novastan: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/kazakhstan\/womens-day-in-kazakhstan-hundreds-gather-for-rally-in-almaty\/\">Women\u2019s Day in Kazakhstan: hundre<\/a><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/kazakhstan\/womens-day-in-kazakhstan-hundreds-gather-for-rally-in-almaty\/\">ds gather for rally in Almaty<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Human rights defender Tatiana Chernobil, commented to Novastan on why the authorities acted so long after the pickets took place, says one can be held liable within one year after the peaceful assembly itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis law prohibits the holding of peaceful assemblies without the so-called sanction of the Akimat (city council), \u2013 explains Chernobil. \u2013 Pickets under this law are considered to be peaceful assemblies, which means that holding them, the same as with other peaceful assemblies, without notification and, importantly, without obtaining the necessary reciprocal approval of the Akimat will be illegal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Darkhan and Vlada held their actions without notifying the Akimat out of principle, rightfully believing that holding of solitary pickets should not require the approval of the authorities. Fair enough because these are international human rights standards. But our government and the law believe otherwise. Therefore, holding even single pickets without Akimat approval in Kazakhstan is fraught with penalties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What is interesting is that, in general, the limitation period for administrative responsibility established by the Code of Administrative Offences is 2 months, but a special period of 1 year is established for violating the legislation on peaceful assemblies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is also interesting to see what other administrative offences have such a long limitation period of 1 year. These are \u2018corruption offences, unlawful interference of officials into entrepreneurial activity and also for offences in the sphere of inspections of private enterprise and other forms of control and supervision with visits to private enterprise, taxation, environment protection, protection of competition, customs, legislation on pension provision, on obligatory social insurance, on energy saving and improvement of energy efficiency, on state secrets, on natural monopolies, subsoil and subsoil use.\u2019 This is the kind of company that peaceful assemblies find themselves in,\u201d &#8211; concludes Chernobil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Verdict upheld<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>On May 11, after Yermolcheva\u2019s verdict was upheld in the court of appeal, she declared she is going on a hunger strike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In his letter from detention center, Darkhan Sharipov sends warm greetings to his fellow activists: \u201cYou must not be ashamed for your civic position; the president and the state must be ashamed of imprisoning citizens for dissent. Until there is one person willing to fight for their rights and freedoms, I have no doubt about the future of this country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>For more news and analysis from Central Asia, follow us on <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/Novastan_Eng\">Twitter<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Novastan.org\/\">Facebook<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/telegram.me\/novastan\">Telegram<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/fondation-novastan\/\">Linkedin<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/novastanorg\/\">Instagram<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right\"><strong>Written by Anna Wilhelmi<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right\"><strong>Edited by Abby Scripka<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On May 6, two activists of \u201cOyan, Qazaqstan\u201d (kaz. for \u201cWake up, Kazakhstan!\u201d) political movements were detained for protesting the election results. Both have been actively protesting in the past and were detained on the grounds of \u201cviolating the procedure for organising and holding peaceful assemblies\u201d for solitary pickets in November 2022 and March this [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1579,"featured_media":43069,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,4668],"tags":[4696,3987],"coauthors":[4517],"class_list":["post-43062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kazakhstan","category-society","tag-activism","tag-protests"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1579"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43062"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43062\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43427,"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43062\/revisions\/43427"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43062"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=43062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}