A Man Spent Six Months in Jail for Nothing — Court Awards Millions from the State

A man spent six months in a temporary detention facility before the case was closed for lack of evidence of a crime. During that time he lost his job and was forced to move, Orda.kz reports.

A court in the West Kazakhstan Region ordered a government agency to pay 7.7 million tenge to a local resident as compensation for unlawful criminal prosecution.

The story began in 2023, when the man was arrested and held for six months in a temporary detention facility. He then spent another month under house arrest. Throughout this period, he was repeatedly summoned for interrogations and checks, but the prosecutor’s office later closed the case after finding no evidence of a crime in his actions.

«After that, the man filed a lawsuit. He demanded 15 million tenge in moral damages and another 4 million for material losses. According to him, he experienced severe stress the entire time, faced threats, and was treated disrespectfully by law enforcement officers. In addition, he lost his job and was forced to change his place of residence,» the case materials say 

The court found that the prosecution had indeed been unlawful. The case materials confirmed the suffering caused. As a result, the court partially granted the claim, awarding 3 million tenge in moral damages, 4 million in material damages, and another 700,000 tenge to cover the cost of legal representation. The decision has not yet become legally binding.

Earlier, we reported about another case where a sentenced man claimed compensation. The case of Denis Kvitash happened in 2023, and he was convicted to six years in a large-scale fraud case. An appellate court partially amended the verdict, and then the Supreme Court overturned the decisions of two lower courts and sent the case back for a new hearing. In September 2025, a city court acquitted him on most counts and, on the remaining episodes, released him from punishment due to the statute of limitations. Kvitash is seeking full rehabilitation and intends to claim 4.5 billion tenge in compensation.

Original author: Ruslan Liginov