The Almaty City Court on December 29 rejected appeals filed by activists Bota Sharipzhan and Ravkhat Mukhtarov of the Oyan Qazaqstan (Wake Up, Kazakhstan) movement against their incarceration. The activists were sentenced to 15 days in jail each earlier this week on a charge of violating regulations for public gatherings. On December 16, Kazakhstan’s Independence Day, Sharipzhan, Mukhtarov, and several other activists rallied in Almaty with posters calling for the commemoration of victims of the 1986 Kazakh youth uprising against the Kremlin and the January 2022 anti-government protests. Several activists were handed up to 25 days in jail before and after Independence Day. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.
