QARAGHANDY, Kazakhstan -- A man in Kazakhstan has been arrested after he issued a statement on TikTok allegedly insulting Kazakhs and expressing support for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Moscow’s ongoing unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
Officials of the police department in Kazakhstan’s central Qaraghandy region told RFE/RL on October 24 that they had arrested a 42-year-old resident of Qaraghandy, the regional capital, on charges of inciting social, ethnic, and religious hatred on the Internet.
The Vechernyaya Karaganda newspaper said on Telegram that the man, who was not identified, was arrested after he issued a video in which he "insulted, using swear words, Kazakhstan's citizens and leadership."
"In his speech, the man also supported Russia's war in Ukraine and personal actions of Vladimir Putin," Vechernyaya Karaganda said, adding that all videos and photos from the man's TikTok account had been removed.
The post included a photo of the man apparently taken as a screenshot from the video in question.
After Russia launched its full-scale aggression against Ukraine in February, Kazakh officials launched several probes linked to online insults of Kazakhstan and expressions of support for Russia by the Central Asian nation's citizens.
Earlier in October, the Committee of National Security in the North Kazakhstan region said in a statement that its officers had questioned two women who were Kazakh citizens but said online that the region is "Russia's ancient territory," adding that "our president is Vladimir Putin."
Also in October, law enforcement officials in the western city of Oral launched a search for a local resident who wrote on social networks that the time had come “for Kazakhstan to return several cities to Russia."
In August, a 54-year-old resident of Saran in the Qaraghandy region was sentenced to seven days in jail for painting the Latin letter "Z" -- a sign of support for Russia's war against Ukraine -- on a tank that is a part of a memorial honoring World War II veterans.