Politically motivated criminal prosecution of civil activist and political prisoner Askhat Zheksebayev.
On 5 April 2021, Kazhibayev G., a senior investigative officer of the Investigative Division of the Almaty City Police Department, prepared a subsumption (legal argumentation of crime) of the suspect, Askhat Zheksebayev. Askhat Zheksebayev is politically prosecuted under Article 182 Part 1 ("establishment of an extremist group") and Article 405 Part 2 ("participation in the activities of an extremist organisation").
"Grounds" for the political criminal case:
1. Askhat Zheksebayev "In December 2019, together with his associates, took an active part in changing the name of the organisation (“DCK”) and its transformation into "Koshe Partiyasy", where he continued his active participation in the unregistered movement. This fact of the name change from the “DCK” to “Koshe Partiyasy” was established by the Yesil District Court on 19 May 2020.
2. On 16 April 2020 a video was posted on Facebook page of Askhat Zheksebayev in which he urged qualified specialists (lawyers, financiers) to join a separate chat of “Koshe Partiyasy” in order "to form necessary staff after the change of the present authorities".
3. On 18 April 2020 a video was published on the Facebook page of Askhat Zheksebayev in which he (wearing a “Koshe Partiyasy” T-shirt) "talks about the benefits of the armband "Жуқа" at rallies" (an armband for linking activists together during peaceful protests in order to prevent OMON officers from detaining peaceful protesters separately one by one).
4. On 5 May 2020, a video was published on the Facebook page of Askhat Zheksebayev in which he "informs about the reasons for registration" of the opposition movement “Koshe Partiyasy”, "invites to participate in the creation of the movement program and criticizes the current government against the background of the flag with the logo of “Koshe Partiyasy”".
5. On 11 May 2020, a video was published on Askhat Zheksebayev's Facebook page in which he "criticises the current authorities against the background of the flag with the logo of the “Koshe Partiyasy” and calls for unification and membership in the opposition movement “Koshe Partiyasy”".
6. On 12 May 2020, a video was published on the Youtube channel of "Koshe Partiyasy" in which he and other “Koshe Partiyasy” activists prepare for peaceful protests. Some of the activists have their arms connected with the "Жуқа" armband, while another part of the activists "act as police officers and try to break the chain between them and pull them aside".
7. "On 23 May 2020, a video was posted on Askhat Zheksebayev's Facebook page in which he says he is one of the leaders of the opposition movement "Koshe Partiyasy" and "together with other activists, expresses his discontent with the court's decision to recognise "Koshe Partiyasy" as an extremist organisation".
8. Askhat Zheksebayev "On a regular basis took part in unsanctioned rallies, actions, pickets for which he was repeatedly brought to administrative responsibility", namely: on 18 June 2020 (15 days of arrest), on 2 July 2020 (5 days) for "disobeying a police officer", on 22 August 2020 (8 days).
9. "Being oppositional in his political convictions and an adherent of extremist ideology, having a negative attitude towards the existing constitutional system and the system of government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, ......, "planned the creation and management of an extremist group", with the aim of changing the constitutional system of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the political system of society”.
10. He was given a "leading role" in the "extremist group".
11. On 19 July 2020, he came to Astana to participate in Asar - collective help for building a house for the family of the murdered Dulat Agadil. Moreover, the investigator himself writes "Asar". Further the investigator writes that together with other activists Askhat Zheksebayev rented a flat in Astana, where they conducted meetings with activists in the capital, discussed the involvement of new supporters and future protests.
12. On 1, 2, 5 and 6 June 2020, Askhat Zheksebayev discussed with Abai Begimbetov, Diana Baimagambetova, Noyan Rakhimzhanov and Dametkan Aspandiyarova the upcoming peaceful protest on 6 June 2020 in Telegram chats.
13. In the period from 1 to 4 June 2020, Askhat Zheksebayev has been communicating with Lyudmyla Kozlovska on Telegram - "counseling and instructions are given to A. Zheksebayev on how to make videos against police violence and political persecution, as well as advised on distributing videos in the "Koshe Partiyasy" chat.
On 6 April 2021, the Head of the Criminal Prosecution Department, I.B. Masakbayev, approved the subsumption (legal argumentation of a crime) of the suspect.
In fact, Askhat Zheksebayev is being politically persecuted for exercising his constitutional rights: he participated in peaceful protests (for which he has already received, formally, illegal administrative penalties), called to join the "Koshe Partiyasy" peaceful opposition movement and discussed the upcoming peaceful protests. The investigator explicitly writes that he is an opposition activist for her political beliefs, which is not in fact illegal, but in this case demonstrates the real reason for her political persecution.
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The secret decision of the Yesil court on banning "Koshe Partiyasy" has not been published. "Koshe Partiyasy" and the “DCK” are two different peaceful opposition movements. In its
resolution of 11 February 2021, the European Parliament has condemned the abuse of anti-extremism legislation by the Kazakhstani authorities to persecute supporters of the peaceful opposition movements “DCK” and “Koshe Partiyasy” and called on the Kazakhstani authorities "to drop politically motivated charges and end all forms of arbitrary detention, reprisals and harassment against human rights activists, religious organisations, civil society organisations, trade unions, journalists and political opposition movements".
We call on the US, the EU, the UK and Canada to impose personal sanctions on: the head of the National Security Committee, Karim Massimov; the General Prosecutor, Gizat Nurdauletov; and the Minister of Internal Affairs, Yerlan Turgumbayev.
DCK (Democratic Choice of Kazakhtstan opposition movement)*
Lyudmyla Kozlovska is the President of "Open Dialogue" Foundation
