Aqtau Blogger Azamat Sarsenbayev Given 20-Day Administrative Arrest

In Aqtau, a local court has sentenced blogger Azamat Sarsenbayev to 20 days of administrative arrest, Orda.kz reports.

Sarsenbayev claims he was accused of defaming the Anti-Corruption Service. Reportedly, one of his posts alleged that the agency was “protecting” a shopping center in the city.

I was locked up for 20 days. The Aqtau City Court ruled that I knowingly disseminated false information that defamed the honor and dignity of another person or undermined their reputation — that is, @antikor.kaz. Brutal. This is a disgrace, friends, a disgrace to the judicial system and the anti-corruption service as a whole! Bring the person to justice under Article 73-3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Republic of Kazakhstan and find him guilty for hurting the honor and dignity of Antikor,
Sarsenbayev wrote on social media. 

Previously, Orda.kz reported that the Anti-Corruption Service (Antikor) filed a complaint against the blogger over an Instagram post:

For example, I know for sure that the shopping center at the bus stop behind me is protected by an employee of the anti-corruption service. Why, you ask? Because it is impossible to simply increase the land plot from 60 square meters to 650 square meters at a public stop, to build a shopping center with conceivable and inconceivable violations,
Sarsenbayev had written. 

Under Kazakh law, defamation is punishable by a fine of 707,000 tenge or administrative arrest for up to 20 days.

Original Author: Dinara Bekbolayeva