Kazakhstan: civil activist sentenced to 1.5 years of restriction of freedom

On August 12, Almaty ended the trial of the well-known civil activist Asiya Tulesova, accused of using violence against a police officer.

Let us remind you that Asiya Tulesova was detained on June 8 – two days after the unauthorized protest actions that took place in Nur-Sultan and Almaty. The organizers of the actions were the unregistered Democratic Party and the DVK movement (whose leader is considered to be the fugitive banker Mukhtar Ablyazov), which was recognized as extremist. The protesters demanded that the authorities hold a credit amnesty and take away land and objects transferred to private ownership. It should be noted that the actions took place on June 6, the day when a new scandalous law on peaceful assemblies came into force in Kazakhstan, according to which a notification principle for such actions was introduced in the country.

For participation in unauthorized actions, 53 people were detained, including Asiya Tulesova. Near the courthouse, where the protesters came with a demand to release the detainees, Tulesova had a verbal quarrel with a police officer, as a result of which the activist hit a law enforcement officer on the head. His cap fell off from the blow.

A few days later, Tulesova published a post on social networks in which she explained her actions by “emotional impulse.”

“I acted in an emotional impulse in response to what I believe was the inhuman cruel and illegal treatment of unarmed civilians who did not pose any danger to society, who came to a peaceful rally to express their peaceful demands. Among the detainees were not only the elderly and young people who came to the rally, but also just passers-by. It is not the first time that I, and I am not alone, have witnessed such a humiliating attitude on the part of law enforcement agencies towards the citizens of Kazakhstan, who peacefully come to the streets and squares in order to express their opinion. There is a mass of documentary material, streams, articles about the cruelty with which law enforcement officers treat their fellow citizens during rallies. I always try to make live broadcasts from rallies, and this time I wanted to do the same but realized that I could not stay on the other side of the camera. I want to somehow help people who are being rounded up and loaded into paddy wagons, not paying attention to any age, no matter whether the person came to the rally or just a passer-by. We, with other citizens, tried to prevent one of these police cars, but the police dragged us away with the use of brute force, ”explained Tulesova.

She also noted that after her arrest she was placed in a separate cell.

“They held me for the whole day, conducted interrogations, without allowing me to make a call to my relatives or a lawyer. Many of those brought to the police station had minor abrasions, bruises, and cuts. Those who came to support us – Beibarys Tolymbekov and Marsel Shashayev – were literally snatched from the hands of their comrades from “Oyan, Kazakhstan!” by the masked policemen, dragging them along the asphalt using force to the police department. Beibarys said that he was beaten in the stomach. The June 6 rally is not the only precedent for the repressive actions of law enforcement agencies, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the KNB to their own citizens. Our president, his advisers, ministers, akims, deputies, the NSOD tell us about the thaw, about reforms, about the hearing state, that Kazakhstan has changed, that repressions are in the past. But when I was at a rally on Saturday, I saw the same employees of the mayor’s office and other services, hiding behind masks and dark glasses, coolly pointing to the policemen at their victims. I want our police to be not a punitive and repressive machine, but a law enforcement system that protects the rights and freedoms, health and life of citizens, ”Tulesova wrote.

However, on the same day, Tulesova was released without explaining anything.

But the activist’s freedom did not last long. On June 8, she was detained for 10 days. Tulesova was charged under two articles of the Criminal Code of Kazakhstan – “Use of violence against a government official” and “Public insult to a government official.” According to the criminal code, these articles provide for punishment of up to three years in prison.

On June 12, the international human rights organization Human Rights Watch spoke out in defense of Tulesova. As Mira Rittmann, a senior fellow at Human Rights Watch for Central Asia, said in her address, the detention of Tulesova is a serious exaggeration on the part of the police and the courts.

“The limitation of peaceful rallies and the application of criminal sanctions against Tulesova show the repressive face of Kazakhstan as he reacts to peaceful protests. Kazakhstani activists should not be imprisoned for exercising their rights to freedom of speech and peaceful protest. The authorities should drop criminal charges against Asia Tulesova, ”Rittmann said.

In addition, another well-known organization, Amnesty International, made a similar appeal to the Kazakh authorities on 17 June.

On June 18, by a court decision, the term of Tulesova’s detention in custody was extended until June 28.

In early July, another international organization CIVICUS, uniting civil society organizations from different countries, included Asiya Tulesova in an international campaign to free the imprisoned human rights defenders. On the campaign page, users were asked to send a petition to the Kazakh authorities to release Tulesova.

On July 7, the trial of Tulesova began. Five police officers were recognized as victims. The activist, as already mentioned, hit one of them on the head, and she allegedly insulted others.

Tulesova herself did not admit the charges against her, but expressed her readiness to apologize to the offended policemen.

The prosecution asked that Tulesova be sentenced to a year of imprisonment and a fine of $ 550.

After a month of court hearings, judge of the Medeu District Court No. 2 of Almaty, Taken Shakirov, nevertheless found Asiya Tulesova guilty under both articles and appointed her one year and six months of restriction of freedom with the establishment of probationary control. In addition, according to a court decision, the activist was fined $ 130. After the announcement of the judgment, Tulesova was released from custody.