Three residents of the Turkestan region have been held accountable for social media posts retelling a television report about an official. One of them received 20 days of administrative arrest. A Majilis deputy has stated his intention to send inquiries to state bodies.
WHAT HAPPENED
As reported by Majilis deputy Abzal Kuspan, the reason for the legal proceedings were posts by blogger-activists — Bekbolat Karzhan, Toktar Zhakash and Sabit Rysbaev. They published posts on social networks referencing a report by the television channel Turkistan TV.
The television piece, titled "Took Money in an Envelope," showed a meeting of the Ethics Council. The report concerns the head of the department of sanitary and epidemiological control (SEC) of the Turkestan region, Nurbek Nyshanov. The report alleged that the official received money from his subordinates. The television channel's material showed a meeting of the disciplinary council, statements from participants, and information about the alleged incidents with dates and amounts.
WHAT MEASURES FOLLOWED
As journalist Mikhail Kozachkov writes in his Telegram channel "Kozachkov offside", following the disciplinary council's review, the official was given a reprimand. After this, complaints were filed with the police against the authors of the posts.
Administrative cases were opened against them under part 2 of Article 73-3 of the Administrative Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan ("Defamation"). One of them — Bekbolat Karzhan — received 20 days of administrative arrest.
WHAT THE LEGAL DISPUTE INVOLVES
Deputy Abzal Kuspan noted that if a citizen distributes information referencing the original source and without adding their own assertions, classifying such actions as defamation raises questions. In this case, the sources were:
- a report from Turkistan TV;
- an open meeting of the Ethics Council;
- materials from the Anti-Corruption Service (including video recordings).
In connection with this, the deputy plans to send official inquiries to the authorised bodies to review law enforcement practice.
WHAT PRECEDED THE CURRENT SITUATION
The subject of Nurbek Nyshanov's activities has been raised before. In June 2022, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Saryagash-inform," Amangeldy Batyrbekov, published a post in which, citing information received by the editorial office, he reported on complaints from employees and checks by the Anti-Corruption Service concerning Nurbek Nyshanov. The publication also claimed that a criminal case had been opened against certain employees of the regional SES.
The accuracy of the information provided and its procedural outcome are not specified in the presented materials.
CONTEXT
Previously, the editorial board of FBRK has already faced similar complaints due to publications based on official data.
In particular, LLP Sunkar Eavision International LLP contacted the police with a statement about the spread of false information following a publication on the procurement of drones. The material used information from official documents posted on the state procurement portal.
Later, an administrative case was opened against the founder of FBRK, Kirill Pavlov, under part 4 of Article 456-2 of the Administrative Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan. On 19 December, the Specialised Inter-district Court for Administrative Offences of Astana dismissed the case due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.