The editor-in-chief of the MIA KazTAG news agency, Amir Kasenov, was detained in Astana. This was reported by the agency's general director, Asset Mataev.
According to the publication, at 19:00 Kasenov was invited to the Yesil District Police Department of the capital for investigative actions. Later, lawyers notified of his detention.
"Lawyers have reported the detention of Amir Kasenov. I consider this to be lawlessness on the part of the authorities and the clients, represented by Turlov and Freedom Finance. If there is justice in Kazakhstan, all charges against Amir will be dropped, and he will be free!" wrote Asset Mataev.
Lawyer Rena Kerimova stated that she considers the detention an excessive measure given the nature of the charges. According to her, the case is being investigated under Article 274, Part 3 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan ("Dissemination of knowingly false information"), which is classified as a crime of medium gravity and carries a penalty of up to five years' imprisonment.
"It gives the impression that this is the response of law enforcement agencies to statements about psychological pressure and illegal investigation methods. I hope the pre-trial court will give this a proper legal assessment and refuse to authorise the arrest," the lawyer stated.
In turn, victims in cases related to the activities of companies within the structure of Freedom Holding Corp. have publicly spoken out in defence of the detained editor-in-chief of KazTAG.
Zhanna Kaparova, representing a group of 24 victims and claimants from six cities in Kazakhstan, stated that KazTAG was one of the few media outlets that systematically covered the appeals of affected clients of Freedom Finance and FFIN Brokerage Services. According to her, the group is preparing a collective statement regarding the initiation of a criminal case, but no corresponding procedural decisions have been made.
It will be recalled that on 18 July, upon the application of Freedom Holding, a criminal case was opened against the management of KazTAG in connection with publications about company employees Timur Bekov and Vitaly Svetovoy. According to KazTAG's materials, dozens of clients were affected by their actions. Freedom clarified that Bekov and Svetovoy acted outside the company, and clients interacted with them directly as individuals.
Later, an internal document from Freedom Holding came into the possession of the FBRK editorial office, analysing KazTAG's publications about the company's activities. The document, prepared by the holding's lawyers, provided a detailed breakdown of 25 statements from the agency's materials which the company considers to be false. The analysis includes specific quotes and comments for each statement.