ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- A court in Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty, has sentenced rights activist and journalist Aigerim Tleuzhanova to 15 days in jail over her participation in an unsanctioned mass gathering to commemorate victims of the deadly unrest in January.
Tleuzhanova was sentenced on March 2 after a court found her guilty of violating the law on public gatherings.
Tleuzhanova pleaded not guilty, saying that she was at the gathering in Almaty's central square on February 13 as a journalist.
Rights lawyer Erlan Qaliev said to RFE/RL that Tleuzhanova was covering the gathering for the Elmedia television channel.
Also on March 2, another activist, Marat Turymbetov, and a well-known businessman, Bolat Abilov, were fined 150,000 tenges ($312) each for organizing the February 13 event.
Kazakh authorities say 227 people, including 19 law enforcement officers, were killed across the country after a peaceful demonstration in the tightly controlled Central Asian state's western region of Manghystau on January 2 over a fuel-price hike led to widespread anti-government protests.
Human rights groups say the number of those killed was much higher, providing evidence that there were peaceful demonstrators and persons who had nothing to do with the protests among those killed by law enforcement and military personnel.
Authorities say some 800 people have been arrested over the unrest and an investigation is under way. There are reports that those in custody have been tortured in custody.
The Prosecutor-General's Office said on March 2 that 62 people arrested over the deadly unrests had been sentenced to prison.
Kazakh Activist Sentenced To 15 Days In Jail Over Unsanctioned Public Event
A sign at the memorial gathering in Almaty on February 13 called for the president to leave the country.