{"id":47102,"date":"2025-01-19T17:07:48","date_gmt":"2025-01-19T16:07:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/?p=47102"},"modified":"2025-01-20T09:40:56","modified_gmt":"2025-01-20T08:40:56","slug":"when-freedom-of-speech-is-a-joke-author-of-a-satirical-news-outlet-detained-in-kazakhstan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/kazakhstan\/when-freedom-of-speech-is-a-joke-author-of-a-satirical-news-outlet-detained-in-kazakhstan\/","title":{"rendered":"When Freedom of Speech Is a Joke: Author of\u00a0a Satirical News Outlet Detained in Kazakhstan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Temirlan Yensebek, creator and author of \u201cQaznews24,\u201d an agency of satirical news, has been detained on Saturday in Almaty. He is expected to stand trial under accusations of incitement of hatred. The court placed Yensebek in custody for the duration of the preliminary investigation. If convicted, he is facing up to 7 years in prison.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Civil activist and blogger Temirlan Yensebek, author of satirical media account Qaznews24, which masks as a news agency, was apprehended on Saturday afternoon at this home during a search. The same evening he stood a preliminary hearing and left the courthouse in handcuffs. The activist remains in custody for the next two months, until the conclusion of the preliminary investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yensebek&#8217;s lawyer Zhanar Balgabaeva <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DE91TVUNh5P\/\">told journalists<\/a> that the reason for the arrest was the comic song <em>&#8220;Yo, orystar&#8221; (\u201cYo, Russians\u201d)<\/em>, which Yensebek added to a satirical post about Russian TV presenter Tina Kandelaki. A representative of the public prosecutor&#8217;s office filed a complaint about the post, which set events in motion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Read more on Novastan: <a href=\"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/kazakhstan\/pressure-from-russia-increases-on-central-asian-media-outlets\/\">Pressure from Russia increases on Central Asian media outlets<\/a><\/strong><\/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<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Satire under scrutiny<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/qaznews24\/?hl=ru\">Qaznews24<\/a> can be seen as a Kazakh analog of \u201cThe Onion\u201d \u2013 a popular instagram page which publishes satirical pieces and perky comments on current affairs and social issues. Since its founding in 2021, Qaznews24 has featured dozens of posts about poverty, corruption, nepotism, and idolization of the powerful, laughing out conspiracy theorists, moralising hypocrits and sycophants in politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although the page openly states its satirical orientation in every post, its content frequently causes confusion as the reports are being mistaken for real news. In 2021, Yensebek was accused of spreading misinformation and, after a search in his house, brought to the police office for questioning. Police issued a <a href=\"https:\/\/polisia.kz\/ru\/avtor-fejkovyh-soobshhenij-ustanovlen\/\">statement<\/a> that Qaznews24 content was \u201c<em>disinforming the population and misleading the citizens<\/em>,\u201d labeling Yensebek as a fake news creator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yensebek\u2019s colleagues then started a campaign called \u201cSatire is not a crime,\u201d demanding to stop the prosecution and ensure freedom of speech, which is guaranteed in the Kazakhstan Constitution. The campaign was supported by international human rights organizations such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2021\/05\/20\/authorities-kazakhstan-cant-take-joke\">Human Rights Watch<\/a>. After linguistic experts showed that humoristic content cannot be qualified as knowingly false information, <a href=\"https:\/\/mediazona.ca\/news\/2022\/09\/14\/qaznews\">the case was closed.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, as recent events have shown, the authorities were not finished with Qaznews24 just yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u201cNew Kazakhstan,\u201d old methods<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>On Saturday, 18 January 2025, Yensebek\u2019s house was searched again \u2013 this time under the pretext of Temirlan \u201cinciting ethnic hatred.\u201d He was then brought to the police station and faced a short evening trial. The judge mandated his detention for two months pending completion of a preliminary investigation. This is the harshest option provided by law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After two months of investigation, Yesenbek will likely await another trial. If found guilty, he could be facing a penalty varying from a fine to restriction of freedom for a period of 2 to 7 years, to imprisonment for the same period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sunday, January 19, saw a new development to the story. Journalist and ex-editor-in-chief of art and culture web-portal Art of Her, Rus Biketov, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.the-village-kz.com\/village\/city\/news-city\/39113-zhurnalista-vyshedshego-na-piket-v-podderzhku-temirlana-ensebekova-zaderzhali-v-almaty\">went<\/a> out on a solitary picket in support of Yensebek in Almaty. He was immediately apprehended by the police. On the same day, Biketov was <a href=\"https:\/\/en.orda.kz\/almaty-journalist-detained-over-single-person-picket-in-support-of-temirlan-yensebek-4643\/\">sentenced<\/a> to 15 days detention for violating the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the procedure for organizing and holding peaceful assemblies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">No laughing matter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Historically, Kazakhstan has never scored high on ratings measuring freedom of expression and freedom of the press. According to Freedom House\u2019s Freedom on the Net report, Kazakhstan has a score of <a href=\"https:\/\/freedomhouse.org\/country\/kazakhstan\/freedom-net\/2024\">34 out of 100<\/a>, placing it in the \u201cnot free\u201d category. RSF <em>World Press Freedom Index<\/em> puts Kazakhstan on <a href=\"https:\/\/rsf.org\/en\/country\/kazakhstan\">place 142 out of 180<\/a>, falling from place 134 in 2023. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.globalexpressionreport.org\/\">Global Expression Report<\/a> defines Kazakhstan as \u201chighly restricted.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A slight improvement on the Freedom of Expression index from V-Dem Project does not really change the overall picture. This index shows the <em>\u201c[b]est estimate of the extent to which people can discuss political matters at home and in the public sphere, the press, and media are free and can present different political perspectives, and the freedom of academic and cultural expression,<\/em>\u201d and Kazakhstan\u2019s score of 0,43\/1 can be described as mediocre at best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"851\" src=\"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/01\/Freedom-of-Expression-V-Dem-KZ-2024-1024x851.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-47104\" srcset=\"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/01\/Freedom-of-Expression-V-Dem-KZ-2024-1024x851.png 1024w, https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/01\/Freedom-of-Expression-V-Dem-KZ-2024-300x249.png 300w, https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/01\/Freedom-of-Expression-V-Dem-KZ-2024-768x638.png 768w, https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/01\/Freedom-of-Expression-V-Dem-KZ-2024.png 1430w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Read more on Novastan: <a href=\"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/context\/in-central-asia-the-freedom-of-press-is-in-decline\/\">In Central Asia, the Freedom of Press is in Decline<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The prosecution of dissidents is not new either. Indeed, Kazakh authorities have shown a considerable lack of humor \u2013 and mostly, inability to take valid criticism \u2013 on various occasions already. One might wonder how in a country where police <a href=\"https:\/\/iphronline.org\/articles\/kazakhstan-bloody-january-2022-what-has-changed-for-torture-victims\/\">uses torture<\/a> against protesters and <a href=\"https:\/\/timesca.com\/murder-and-arson-in-talgar-kazakhs-fear-rising-tide-of-organized-crime\/\">organized crime is on the rise<\/a>, a satirical account poses the greatest threat. Yet, in reality, this crackdown on satire is all but inconsequential. The idea is not to fight the greatest evil, but to target those who dared to speak up about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the situation with Temirlan Yensebek might look absurd, his detention illustrates a concerning development in restricting freedom of the speech. More importantly, it aims to send a clear warning to civil society. As Factcheck.kz editor Adil Jalilov writes <a href=\"https:\/\/factcheck.kz\/mneniya\/mnenie-sezon-ohoty-na-inakomyslie\/\">in his column<\/a>, \u201c<em>the expected result of the arrest and criminal case against QazNews24 author Temirlan Yensebek . . . [is], [o]bviously, an increased self-censorship in the entire media community.\u201d<\/em><\/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><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Temirlan Yensebek, creator and author of \u201cQaznews24,\u201d an agency of satirical news, has been detained on Saturday in Almaty. He is expected to stand trial under accusations of incitement of hatred. The court placed Yensebek in custody for the duration of the preliminary investigation. If convicted, he is facing up to 7 years in prison. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1579,"featured_media":47107,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,4665,4668],"tags":[4632,4622,4124,470,4130],"coauthors":[4517],"class_list":["post-47102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kazakhstan","category-politics","category-society","tag-civil-society","tag-freedom-of-speech","tag-journalism","tag-kazakhstan","tag-media-2"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47102","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=47102"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47120,"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47102\/revisions\/47120"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47102"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=47102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}