On 11 March 2021, Abaibek Sultanov was charged in a politically motivated criminal case under Article 405 Part 2 ("participation in an extremist organisation"). An indictment dated 5 March 2021 was drawn up by the First Deputy Prosecutor of the Almaty region, Rashid Amirov. The indictment is based on the following information:
• On 24 May 2020, Abaibek Sultanov "deliberately posted on Facebook a publication, a statement in support of the “Koshe Partiyasy” organisation".
• On 7 and 13 June 2020, Abaibek Sultanov "deliberately posted again on Facebook a publication, a statement in support of the organisation “Koshe Partiyasy”".
• Screenshots of 10 posts with Abaibek's statements and 16 video files published by him were taken.
• The expertise of 13 November 2020 confirmed that in the submitted materials "there is information about the affiliation, participation of A.A.Sultanov in the activities of “Koshe Partiyasy””.
On the copy issued to Abaibek there is no stamp. It should be noted that the secret and politically motivated decision of the Yesil court (judge Mazhitov) on the ban of “Koshe Partiyasy” opposition movement from 19 May did not come into force immediately, since the initiative group that consisted of 10 people filed an appeal, and therefore during that period the “evidence” which were presented in the indictment on the dates of 24 May, 7 and 13 June 2020 cannot be taken into account.
Moreover the authorities illegally refused in consideration of the appeal against the unlawful decision of the Yesil court, citing that 10 members of the initiative group “Koshe Partiyasy” (including Abaibek) were not “parties to the case” – that is, the Yesil court (judge Mazhitov) recognized that they were not parties to the case and thus logically they could not be prosecuted for participation in the “Koshe Partiyasy”.
The name of Abaibek Sultanov is mentioned in the European Parliament Resolution on the human rights situation in Kazakhstan of 11 February 2021.The European Parliament expressed concern over the fabrication of a new criminal case for "extremism" and called for an end to all political persecution.
