Feminita Founders Fined After Disrupted Events

The Almaty Administrative Court has issued a decision on the administrative case against Zhanar Sekerbayeva, the founder of Feminita, Orda.kz reports.

The activist was charged under Part Nine of Article 489 of the Code of Administrative Offenses  - "Management of The Activities of Unregistered Public Associations, as well as Associations whose Activities Have Been Suspended or Prohibited."

Sekerbayeva was found guilty and fined 100 MCI (393,200 tenge).

The day before, a court issued an identical ruling against Feminita's second founder, Gulzada Serzhan.

The court proceedings followed incidents where the Kazakhstan Union of Parents, led by activist Bagila Baltabayeva, disrupted Feminita's Human Rights School training sessions on February 13 and 14.

The parent group accused the organization of promoting LGBT issues and receiving USAID funding.

During the first incident, Baltabayeva called the police, resulting in Serzhan and Sekerbayeva being taken to the police station for questioning.

The following day, when training participants tried to prevent disruption by lowering roller shutters, Baltabayeva and her associates attempted to force entry while playing loud music.

Ultimately, the organizers whose events were disrupted, not the Kazakhstan Parent Union members, who face financial penalties.

Original Author: Alexandra Mokhireva