The Week in Kazakhstan: More Catch Than Release

Civil SocietyFormer Russian Orthodox priest Iakov Vorontsov was sentenced to four years in prison by a district court in Almaty on October 7, after being found guilty of illegally acquiring and possessing a large quantity of a banned synthetic psychotropic substance.Vorontsov, who is from Kazakhstan and was defrocked after publicly criticizing Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, rose to prominence last year for his efforts to establish a new church in Kazakhstan that would have operated independently of the Russian Orthodox Church. [Read more about Vorontsov’s efforts to found a new Orthodox church in Kazakhstan here.] Over 60 criminal cases have been opened under Kazakhstan’s Article 274 ("Dissemination of knowingly false information”) so far this year, while 124 individuals have been held “administratively liable,” minister of internal affairs Yerzhan Sadenov said in a statement on October 8.The article, infamous for its use as a basis to prosecute Kazakhstani journalists, bloggers, and civil society voices, was recently invoked in a case against prominent independent journalist Lukpan Akhmedyarov over a YouTube documentary about Kazakh citizens allegedly fighting for Russia in Ukraine.The UN Committee Against Torture weighed in on the potential deportation of Russian activist Yulia Yemelyanova this week, applying “urgent measures” and demanding that Kazakhstan refrain from extraditing her to Russia, human rights organization Kovcheg reported on October 8.Two days earlier, the UN Human Rights Committee had warned Kazakhstan to comply with urgent measures issued regarding Chechen activist Mansur Movlayev, who, like Yemelyanova, faces imminent extradition to Russia.Last week, Kazakhstan’s Prosecutor General’s Office said the measures were “advisory,” a claim Yemelyanova and Movlayev’s lawyers dispute. [Read more about Yemelyanova and Movlayev’s cases here.] Ukrainian citizen Lyubov Rozhanska was released from detention in Astana on October 8 and has since arrived in a European Union country, according to her attorney.On October 1, at Russia’s request, Rozhanska was detained on suspicion of “child abduction” upon arriving at Astana Airport, where she was reportedly due to meet her grandson.One day later, Ukraine’s government asked Kazakhstan not to honor Russia’s extradition request.Government and PoliticsKazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a law ratifying the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters on October 6, paving the way for prosecutors to more easily obtain evidence and pursue asset freezes in some 50 countries that observe the convention.According to the prosecutor general’s office, the move will help facilitate the recovery of assets illegally transferred out of the country.