An Astana court on May 14 fined activist Elvira Bekzadina of the unregistered Algha, Qazaqstan (Forward, Kazakhstan) opposition party 110,760 tenges ($250) on a charge of disobeying police. Police detained Bekzadina two days earlier when she was going to hold a public poll on the results of President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev's time in office since March 2019. Bekzadina rejected the charge, accusing the police of physically abusing her during her detention. In November, a court in Astana sentenced the chairman of Algha, Qazaqstan, Marat Zhylanbaev, to seven years in prison on extremism charges that he also rejects as politically motivated. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.
