Case Involving Journalist Adilbekov: Interior Ministry Commented on Situation

Yesterday, April 18 2024, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Marat Kozhayev, commented on the detention of journalist Daniyar Adilbekov. He has been accused of false denunciation, reports Orda.kz .

The Interior Ministry reported that initially Adilbekov was accused of defamation. Incidentally, the article on defamation has been decriminalized in Kazakhstan since 2020 after the president signed amendments to the Criminal Code.

The case against the journalist was later reclassified into an article on deliberately false denunciations specified in the Criminal Code. Under this article, one can receive a prison sentence of up to eight years.

On the sidelines of the Senate, journalists asked Marat Kozhayev why the case was reclassified and how a post in Telegram became the denunciation. 

The deputy minister replied that the arrest and the investigation are related to the appeals of "several citizens who felt that false information was disseminated against them." One statement was from Vice Minister of Energy, Yerlan Akkenzhenov, and another from Elmedia's Project Manager, Gulzhan Yergalieva. Gulzhan later reported on Adilbekov admitting to spreading false information about her, stating he may have had powerful clients.

"The necessary research was carried out — expert examinations were appointed on the publications that Adilbekov made. As a result of the conclusions received, the investigation concludes that in this case, the citizen disseminated unverified, unreliable information, thereby causing significant harm to the rights and interests of citizens. In addition, his actions contain signs of a false denunciation regarding a corruption offense,
the Vice-minister said.

However, according to Daniyar Adilbekov, he did not file anything with law enforcement. Replying to this, Marat Kozhayev stated that publications in the media can also be denunciations.

The basis for registering a pre-trial investigation is not only a statement but also the publication of mass media and other information that has become known to the criminal prosecution authorities,
 Marat Kozhayev said.

The Criminal Code, however, does not specify that materials in the media can be equated with denunciations. There is also nothing regarding telegram channels, which are not official media.

The journalists also asked whether the Vice Minister thought that criminal cases had been opened against journalists more often lately.

I wouldn't say very often, you probably know all these cases. Maybe this is your personal opinion,
 He concluded.

It was previously reported that the case against Adilbekov was opened over posts in the anonymous telegram channel "Dikaya Orda". 

On April 17, the arrested journalist wrote a letter from temporary holding.

Original Author: Zhadra Zhulmukhametova

DISCLAIMER: This is a translated piece. The text has been modified, the content is the same. Please refer to the original piece in Russian for accuracy.