Bakhytzhan Toregozhina Appeals to Law Enforcement Over False Video

Kazakh human rights activist Bakhytzhan Toregozhina has reported a new provocation against her, Orda.kz reports.

She wrote on Facebook that a video featuring her photo and someone else’s voice was being spread on social media.

As a human rights activist, I've provided all my services for free for 25 years. I've never had much money, I don't have a car, I don't have a dacha (summer home - Ed.), and I live in an old, 40-year-old two-room apartment. I don't smoke, I don't drink alcohol, and I live with my cat, Michelangelo. Please don't fall for the provocations,
 wrote Toregozhina.

According to her, the pressure began after her post about Marat Zhylanbayev. She appealed to law enforcement agencies to identify and punish those spreading false information about her.

Toregozhina has previously faced detentions and fines for her activism. 

In August, she was questioned in connection with the "Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan" (DVK)* case, and in July, she was fined for a post about imprisoned activist Marat Zhylanbayev. 

In 2023, she received the US State Department’s Women of Courage Award for her human rights work.

Original Author: Ruslan Loginov

*DVK is banned in Kazakhstan as an extremist organization. It is led by exiled banker Mukhtar Ablyazov and was outlawed by a Kazakh court in March 2018.