A court in Astana on January 16 rejected an appeal filed by Nurzhan Altaev, the leader of Kazakhstan's unregistered El Tiregi (People's Pillar) party, against a 10-year prison term he was handed in November on a bribe-taking charge, which the former lawmaker denies and calls politically motivated. Altaev, who quit the ruling Amanat (then Nur-Otan) party in 2021 and has accused the Justice Ministry of refusing to register his party, was arrested in June 2023. In April last year, a court in Astana sentenced Altaev to 15 days in jail on a separate charge of violating regulations for holding public gatherings. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.
Jailed Kazakh Opposition Party Leader's Appeal Against Sentence Denied
Nurzhan Altaev speaks at a meeting in Astana in July 2021.