On June 9, Mukhametkarim, a journalist and operator of the Ne Deidi (ND) YouTube channel, was listed as a witness with the right to defence in a criminal case under two sections of Kazakhstan’s penal code. While initially listed under Article 405, which criminalises assembly and the organisation of activities with public or religious associations deemed to be related to terrorist or extremist activities, the new charge under Article 258 concerns the alleged financing of extremism.
Mukhametkarim’s legal representatives claimed that both charges were made in relation to an interview conducted with the controversial political exile, fugitive banker and former oligarch Mukhtar Ablyazov and his Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) party, labelled an extremist organisation in March 2018.
Mukhametkarim has been arrested three times in 2023, with the journalist’s first 25-day detention occurring in March following his call for a protest rally in the wake of an unsuccessful parliamentary election campaign, in which he participated as an independent candidate. He was released on April 15, before being detained for a further 25 days on May 1 after mentioning a rally called for by the DVK in a YouTube video to protest a visa-free border policy with China. He was eventually released on May 26, before being arrested for a third time on May 28 for calling for a rally on May 31 in memory of victims of repression during famines in 1930-33.
The journalist has protested his most recent charge through a hunger strike, launched on May 29, reaching over ten days on June 9. The journalist’s father joined the protest but was forced to stop due to medical concerns.
The journalist worked as a correspondent for Kazakhstan’s state broadcaster Kazakhstan Radio and Television Corporation (RTRK), before launching his YouTube Channel in 2015. His channel has over 147,000 subscribers, and nearly 850 videos.
FEJK Director Nazira Darimbet said: “I believe that Duman Mukhametkarim was arrested illegally and demand his release and the termination of the case against him.”
The IFJ said: “The almost routine arrests of journalist Duman Mukhametkarim are deeply concerning and contrary to freedom of expression and freedom of the press. The IFJ urges the Kazakhstani authorities to further investigate the matter and ensure his swift release.”