In Kazakhstan authorities are targeting human rights defenders, LGBTI activists, journalists, and lawyers through criminal prosecutions, arbitrary detention, and retaliatory legal measures.
Nineteen members of the Atajurt human rights group are currently on trial in Taldykorgan after participating in a peaceful protest in November 2025 near the China border. The protest called for an end to repression against ethnic Kazakhs and Uyghurs in Xinjiang and demanded the release of a detained Kazakh citizen in China. Following a diplomatic complaint from the Chinese consulate, authorities opened criminal proceedings under Article 174(2) of the Criminal Code (“inciting ethnic or national discord”), a broadly worded provision carrying penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment. Thirteen defenders remain in pre-trial detention, while six, including seven-month-pregnant Nazigul Maksutkhan, are under house arrest. Proceedings are being held behind closed doors.
Repression has also intensified against LGBTI defenders. Infact, in January 2026, Temirlan Baimash, co-founder of QUEER.KZ, was questioned by police following a complaint by an anti-LGBTI vigilante group. Months earlier, he and fellow activist Zhanar Sekerbayeva were assaulted in a café; rather than arresting the perpetrators, police detained the defenders. A criminal investigation was later opened against Baimash. This harassment unfolds in the wake of a newly adopted “LGBTI propaganda” law, raising serious concerns about the shrinking space for equality activism.
Independent journalism has also come under attack. Journalist Gulnara Bazhkenova, associated with Orda.kz, was placed under house arrest on charges of “dissemination of false information.” Police raided her home and newsroom, seized equipment, and denied lawyers access during searches. Her lawyer, Murat Adam, was subsequently disbarred in proceedings widely viewed as retaliatory.
ProtectDefenders.eu strongly condemns this pattern of judicial harassment and misuse of criminal law to silence peaceful dissent. The Kazakhstani authorities must immediately end politically motivated prosecutions and uphold their international human rights obligations.
