Kazakhstan: National Security Committee has found a new way to eliminate activists

The National Security Committee of Kazakhstan has found a new effective way to get rid of unwanted civil activists. The method was tested on an activist from Uralsk, Orynbay Okhasov.

According to the Facebook group of civic activists # IHaveAChoiсe #ActivistsNotExtremists, on August 18, Orynbay Okhasov was detained for 72 hours in a politically motivated criminal case under the article “Participation in an extremist organization” pending a decision on a measure of restraint. Two criminal cases were initiated against the activist.

The first case was opened on the basis that on August 2, a provocative post was published on Okhasov’s social media page calling for the violent upheaval.

Meanwhile, Okhasov himself posted a video message on the same day stating that his account had been hacked by officers of the National Security Committee. Consequently, the post wasn’t published by the account owner, but by those who had hacked it.

The second criminal case against the activist was initiated on the basis of the investigator’s report dated March 11. The report said that police officers, while monitoring social networks, found that during a peaceful, permitted protest in Uralsk in late February, Orynbay Okhasov allegedly “supported the banned movement Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan”. However, the report didn’t explain exactly how Okhasov supported the Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan.

Regardless of the visit to Kazakhstan of the new EU Special Representative for Central Asia, Mrs. Terhi Hakala, the authorities of Kazakhstan continue political persecution. Orynbay Okhasov is being prosecuted for political reasons for participating in peaceful protests in defense of political prisoners and demanding an end to political persecution. He actively and publicly criticized the authorities of Kazakhstan and tried to participate in observing the parliamentary elections on January 10, 2021 (but the authorities restricted him in this right). He was repeatedly refused permission to hold peaceful assemblies, was arrested for participating in peaceful protests, and the National Security Committee tried to hack into his Telegram account.

“We demand the immediate release of Orynbay Okhasov and termination of political persecution. We ask the EU Special Representative, Mrs. Terhi Hakala, to publicly and by name raise the issue of political prisoners and politically persecuted people in Kazakhstan,” civil activists say in this regard.