Court Upholds Ruling Against Human Rights Activist Toregozhina

The decision of the court of first instance against human rights activist Bakhytzhan Toregozhina has been upheld, Orda.kz reports.

The Almaty Court of Administrative Offences dismissed her appeal, a ruling that Toregozhina said she only learned about later.

The ruling was quietly posted in the courtroom without being announced. It was left unchanged, she wrote on Facebook.

Commenting on the situation, Andrey Sviridov, a columnist for the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, recalled that on the morning police detained Toregozhina in Gandhi Park in Medeu, mass arrests were expected.

There is an assumption that by detaining Toregozhina, the police intended to prevent her from appearing at this marathon, where she could theoretically speak in support of the convicted ultramarathon runner Zhylanbayev. However, Bakhytzhan herself only shrugged her shoulders on this matter and said she had no such intention and did not even know about any public event being held at the dam, Sviridov wrote.

Toregozhina is not the only one detained while jogging.

In East Kazakhstan, former political prisoner Serik Ydyryshev was detained while trying to jog; in Oral, police seized civil activists Roza Kariyeva and Marua Yeskendirova while jogging, and in Shymkent, Yermek Konshbayev was detained in the same way. In Astana, jogging and sports exercises were held under the mantras of either the prosecutor or the akimat member, who demanded that those gathered stop improving their health and disperse. Whereas in Qostanay, Aqtobe, Taraz, Taldykorgan and Beineu (Mangystau region), people still managed to combine a sports event with a human rights subtext, Sviridov added.

In late July, Toregozhina was found guilty of disseminating false information over a Facebook post about political activist and marathon runner Marat Zhylanbayev, who is serving a prison sentence.

She claimed his health had deteriorated significantly.

Original Author: Zhadra Zhulmukhametova