Details on Detention of Almaty Bloggers Accused of Extortion

Two bloggers, Damir Kusheev and Ruslan Karimov, were detained in Almaty on suspicion of extortion. An Orda.kz correspondent contacted their relatives and found out the details.

An entrepreneur is also under investigation alongside the bloggers. According to the police, they extorted eight million tenge by threatening to publish incriminating materials on social networks.

In addition, they attempted to persuade the victim to abandon claims for 20 million tenge, which the entrepreneur was required to pay by a court ruling,  the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported today.

Meanwhile, Orda.kz sources believe that the detention may be related to Damir Kusheev’s recent Instagram post.

In the video, he alleged that businessman Bakhtiyar Blayev, serving a sentence in a penal colony, was seen freely driving around Almaty in a Land Cruiser.

Kusheev claimed that many prisoners are essentially free and that detention facilities have turned into "hostels."

We support these convicts at the taxpayers' expense,Kusheev said in the video 

The video was filmed by Ruslan Karimov, who was also detained.

According to our sources, the information about Blayev's privileged position came from one of his business competitors, who is also under investigation and currently in detention.

What Relatives Say

Ruslan Karimov’s father, Salim Nagayev, stated that his son was only filming at the scene.

He also mentioned that a lawyer wasn’t allowed to see Karimov immediately after his arrest.

As far as I know, my son was just there to film. He was standing and filming the so-called victim. But I don’t know all the details. At 12 o’clock today, the investigator called the lawyers. But knowing my son, I can say this doesn’t seem like something he’d do. He has three children, one of whom is disabled,the man told us.

Damir Kusheev’s wife, Akmeir, has a similar opinion:

I only found out about this at night. Damir's lawyer hasn’t been to the temporary detention center yet; he’ll be there after lunch. I didn’t even know what charges or articles he was being detained under. I believe it’s a setup. My husband has never taken money from anyone, let alone extorted it, the blogger's wife shared with an Orda.kz correspondent.

Damir Kusheev and Ruslan Karimov have repeatedly covered problematic issues.

Previously, Kusheev, along with blogger Anton Knyazev, was arrested for 15 days for hooliganism after they filmed a video of prosecutors driving without seat belts.

Additionally, Karimov exposed dishonest bottled water manufacturers, creating a list of companies whose products he did not recommend buying.

According to the detainees' relatives, an investigative court is scheduled for January 24 to determine the measure of restraint. They are now hoping for an objective investigation.

In 2023, Orda.kz interviewed Damir Kusheev as a bike traveler after he completed a 6,200-kilometer journey across Kazakhstan. During the interview, Kusheev criticized the state of the country's roads, pointing out that they are difficult to navigate by bicycle and car.

Original Author: Aliya Askarova