Ahead of the start of the trial of 19 activists from the Kazakhstani human rights group Atajurt, who are being prosecuted for taking part in a peaceful protest calling for the release of a detained Kazakhstani citizen in China, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director, said:
“The Kazakhstani authorities must urgently step back from the reckless misuse of criminal law and do what international human rights standards plainly require: drop these baseless charges and immediately release all the detained Atajurt activists. Peaceful protest is not a crime simply because it makes those in power uncomfortable – even when that discomfort extends to displeasing a powerful geopolitical player such as China.”
Peaceful protest is not a crime simply because it makes those in power uncomfortable – even when that discomfort extends to displeasing a powerful geopolitical player such as China
Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director
“The ‘incitement of hatred’ charges have once again been deployed as a blunt instrument to silence dissent, corrupting this safeguard against genuine incitement to violence or discrimination. The authorities must drop this prosecution and immediately release the activists.”
Background
The trial will begin on 23 January in the city of Taldykorgan. The activists are facing up to ten years’ imprisonment.
On 13 November 2025, the 19 activists were detained after staging a peaceful protest near the Kazakhstan-China border in the Almaty region. The protesters, all ethnic Kazakhs originally from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), were calling for the release of Alimnur Turganbay, a Kazakhstani citizen detained in China since July 2025 under unclear circumstances.
Following the protest, participants were initially accused of administrative offences, including “hooliganism,” and penalized with fines and short-term detention of up to 10 days. Shortly afterwards, and following a diplomatic note from the Chinese authorities, all 19 activists were charged under Article 174 of the Criminal Code for allegedly “inciting ethnic or national discord.” Thirteen were remanded in custody and six of them were placed under house arrest.
The Atajurt movement, which documents and amplifies testimonies of ethnic Kazakhs and other Turkic minorities subjected to repression in China, has faced sustained pressure since 2019, when its founder, Serikzhan Bilash, an ethnic Kazakh from XUAR, was prosecuted under Article 174, forcing him to flee Kazakhstan and later seek refuge in the United States.
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