A court in Astana has rejected a lawsuit from the president of the 'Legal Media Centre' foundation, Diana Okremova, against a city administration body regarding the disclosure of information about peaceful rallies. The dispute concerned data on authorised actions between March and August 2025.
WHAT THE COURT DECIDED
According to BES.media, the administrative lawsuit brought by the foundation president Diana Okremova against the state institution 'Directorate for Internal Policy of the City of Astana' was left unsatisfied.
The lawsuit concerned the refusal to provide information about planned peaceful gatherings from March to August 2025, including details about the organisers, event topics, timings, and the expected number of participants.
The court also stated that during the examination of the case, it found no violation of the plaintiff's rights or legitimate interests.
The basis for the refusal was the 'Personal Data and its Protection' law.
HOW THE CASE PROGRESSED
In October 2025, the court returned the lawsuit after a preliminary hearing. The judge indicated that the plaintiff first needed to approach the authorised body.
At the hearing, Diana Okremova reported that in March, the city administration's website had published a list of authorised events, but it only indicated the date, location, and a note stating 'authorised'.
Following this, she requested additional information — the event topic, organiser, and time. A representative of the Internal Policy Directorate, Tabyrzhan Turunbaev, confirmed that the request was received on 22 July 2025, and that on 11 August 2025, the department refused to provide this data. The reasons cited were the lack of such an obligation in the law and the provisions on personal data protection.
WHY THE RULING HAS ATTRACTED ATTENTION
It is noted that in other regions of Kazakhstan, courts have previously taken a different stance in disputes related to peaceful gatherings.
In March 2025, a court in Ust-Kamenogorsk ruled that the local administration's refusal to permit a peaceful gathering was unlawful and ordered it to reconsider the applicant's notification. A similar ruling was made by a court in the West Kazakhstan Region.
In these cases, the courts referred to the position of the Constitutional Court regarding the application of the Law on Peaceful Gatherings. According to the clarifications, local administrations are obliged to offer alternative locations and times for an action if the chosen venue is occupied, and a refusal must be justified and take into account the circumstances of the specific case.
However, in Diana Okremova's case, the dispute concerned not the authorisation of a rally, but access to information about already planned events.