Shymkent Resident Sentenced to 8 Years for Terrorism-Related Offenses

A court in Shymkent has sentenced a resident to eight years in prison for promoting terrorism and recruiting for a terrorist organization, Orda.kz reports.

According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the individual shared content related to the ideology of the international terrorist organization "Muslim Brotherhood*," banned in Kazakhstan, via WhatsApp in September 2024.

The materials called for violence and advocated "armed jihad."

In addition, he attempted to recruit a woman, encouraging her to move to Syria and join the group.

Following his detention and trial, the court found him guilty under two articles of the Criminal Code: Part 2 of Article 256, “Propaganda of Terrorism and Dissemination of Materials of The Said Content” and Part 1 of Article 296, “Recruitment, Training or Arming for The Purpose of Organizing Terrorist or Extremist Activity.”

The Shymkent prosecutor's office noted ten individuals were convicted of similar offenses last year.

Original Author: Anastasia Prilepskaya

*The Muslim Brotherhood is recognized as a banned organization in the Republic of Kazakhstan by a decision of the Supreme Court dated March 15, 2005.