Kazakhstan Sentences Activists Over Burning Chinese Flags and Xi Portrait

A court in Taldykorgan has sentenced 19 defendants in a criminal case on inciting ethnic hatred. Among them are activists linked to the Atajurt movement and their supporters. Most received prison terms, while the others were given restricted-freedom sentences, Orda.kz reports.  

Among those convicted are movement leader Bekzat Maksutkhan and Guldariya Sherizat, the wife of Kazakh citizen Alimnur Turganbay, who was previously convicted in China. Both were sentenced to five years in prison, although Sherizat’s sentence was deferred. The court made a similar decision in the case of another mother with many children.  

Nine other activists and supporters of the movement also received five-year prison terms. The rest were sentenced to restriction of freedom.  

The case was heard behind closed doors at the request of one of the defendants. Some of those held in pretrial detention took part in the hearings online.

After the verdict was announced, relatives and supporters of the convicted activists gathered outside the courthouse. Several people felt unwell, and one woman was taken away by ambulance.

Human rights groups criticized the sentence. Human Rights Watch said the case stemmed from a peaceful protest, while Amnesty International had earlier called for the charges to be dropped.  

The criminal case was opened after a protest held in the fall of 2025 in the Almaty region. Its participants demanded the release of Turganbay and burned Chinese flags and a portrait of Xi Jinping. They were initially brought to administrative responsibility, but the case was later reclassified as criminal.

Original author: Natalya Ovchinnikova

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