NUR-SULTAN -- Kazakhstan's Supreme Court has fully exonerated the chairman of the Union of Kazakhstan's Journalists and his son, the director-general of KazTAG news agency, who served prison terms for tax evasion and embezzlement several years ago.
The Supreme Court ruled on July 19 that the conviction and imprisonment of Seitqazy Mataev and his son, Aset Mataev, by a court in Nur-Sultan, the capital, in 2016 was incorrect, as there were "no elements of a crime" having been committed.
It also ruled that the two men deserve compensation for the judicial mistake. There was no immediate word from the two on whether they would seek compensation from the state.
Seitqazy and Aset Mataev were arrested in February 2016 and subsequently sentenced to six and five years in prison, respectively, on convictions of tax evasion and embezzlement.
They rejected the charges, calling them politically motivated.
In December 2017, Seitqazy Mataev was released from prison after his sentence was reduced under a 2016 mass amnesty marking the 25th anniversary of Kazakh independence.
https://www.rferl.org/a/kazakh-journalist-released-from-prison/28896465.html
Aset Mataev served his full prison term.
With reporting by KazTAG and Tengrinews