Trial of Temirlan Yensebek Postponed Again
The main court hearing in the criminal case against Temirlan Yensebek, the author of the satirical page Qaznews24, has been postponed once again by the Almaly District Court of Almaty. His lawyer, Zhanara Balgabayeva, reported this to Azattyk Asia, citing the court secretary.
According to Balgabayeva, the hearing, initially scheduled for February 21 at 10:00 AM, was postponed due to “personal family circumstances” of the presiding judge. This is not the first delay in the case—earlier, the trial was set for February 14 but was then rescheduled to February 21. The court has yet to announce a new date and time for the hearing.
Temirlan Yensebek was detained on January 17, and the following day, he was placed in custody for two months. He has been charged with “inciting interethnic hatred”, an offense that carries a penalty ranging from a fine to a prison sentence of two to seven years. Yensebek has denied all accusations against him.
Following his arrest, activists and journalists in several cities across Kazakhstan began staging solo protests in his support, many of which resulted in detentions, administrative arrests, and fines. The protests were held under the slogan: “Satire is not a crime” (Satiра — қылмыс емес).