Overview
- A court in Taldykorgan convicted 19 activists for “inciting discord” over a November protest, jailing 11 for five years and placing eight under movement limits with three-year bans on political activity.
- Kazakh authorities opened the case after the Chinese consulate in Almaty sent a note that labeled the rally an insult and urged “appropriate measures,” according to a copy reviewed by the Associated Press.
- The defendants, linked to the Atajurt advocacy group, had rallied near the China border, burned Chinese flags and Xi Jinping’s portrait, and demanded freedom for ethnic Kazakh detainee Alimnur Turganbay.
- Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International condemned the verdicts, saying officials misuse the vague “inciting discord” charge to quash peaceful protest and urging the immediate release of those imprisoned.
- Advocates say the case is Kazakhstan’s toughest action yet against Xinjiang-focused activism and could mute Atajurt’s stream of testimonies from families divided across the 1,700-kilometer China–Kazakhstan border.