ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- Jailed Kazakh journalist Duman Mukhammedkarim, who has been on a hunger strike since July 5, will not be transferred from a pretrial detention center in Taldyqorghan to Almaty despite ongoing protests by his supporters.
The deputy chief of the Almaty regional police department, Rustem Abdirakhmanov, met with dozens of Mukhammedkarim's supporters in the town of Qonaev on July 28, saying that the journalist cannot be transferred to Almaty as "all detention centers in Almaty are full."
About a dozen of Mukhammedkarim’s supporters spent a night in front of the prosecutor's office in Qonaev demanding that the journalist, known for his criticism of the government, be transferred either to house arrest or to a detention center in Almaty closer to his aging parents. Taldyqorghan lies more than 250 kilometers north of Almaty. In the morning of July 28, dozens more supporters joined the group.
"Mukhammedkarim will not be transferred to house arrest either, because doctors concluded that his health state is good enough to allow him to stay in custody," Abdirakhmanov said to the protesters
Mukhammedkarim’s lawyer, Ghalym Nurpeisov, said earlier this week that his client lost more than 20 kilos and is suffering from low blood pressure as he has been on hunger strike for three weeks.
"He was barely able to come to the visitation room. He started the hunger strike on July 5, just drinking water only. Duman says he will not stop his hunger strike until all charges against him are dropped," Nurpeisov told RFE/RL on July 25, adding that his client's weight was more than 80 kilograms before he embarked on the hunger strike.
Mukhammedkarim, whose Ne Deidi? (What Do They Say?) YouTube channel is very popular in Kazakhstan, was sent to pretrial detention last month on charges of financing an extremist group and participation in a banned group's activities.
The charges against Mukhammedkarim stem from his online interview with the fugitive banker and outspoken critic of the Kazakh government, Mukhtar Ablyazov, whose Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) movement was labeled as extremist and banned in the country in March 2018.
If convicted, Mukhammedkarim could be sentenced to up to 12 years in prison.
Rights watchdogs have criticized the authorities in the tightly controlled former Soviet republic for persecuting dissent, but Astana has shrugged off the criticism, saying there are no political prisoners in the country.