Kazakh opposition activist Nurlybai Tataev went on trial in Kazakhstan's southern city of Turkistan on July 17 over an online conversation with the self-exiled leader of the Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) movement, Mukhtar Ablyazov, in 2021. Tataev is charged with taking part in a banned group's activities. His lawyers insist that the charge is illegitimate, citing the statute of limitations. The DVK was banned in Kazakhstan in 2018. Many activists across the Central Asian nation have been handed prison terms or parole-like restricted freedom sentences in recent years for their involvement in DVK activities. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.
