Satirist and political commentator Azamat Omarov, who had been in pre-trial detention in Kazakhstan since mid-April on “inciting discord” charges, struck a plea bargain with the prosecution, under the terms of which he pled guilty, and on September 15, was released.
While Omarov avoided what could have been a long and unjustified prison sentence, he did not walk out of the courtroom a free man.
He will serve a suspended three-and-a-half-year prison sentence. He is also banned from engaging in socioeconomic and political activities for five years, which includes activities such as monitoring trials, according to his lawyer. He will not be able to resume his political satire show “Akhual Segodnya,” (The Situation Today) on YouTube, nor enjoy his fundamental right to express a social or political opinion on any online platform for the next five years. Should he violate the terms of his plea bargain he risks going to prison.
It is hard to overstate how unjust Omarov’s sentence is, even if he is not languishing in prison.
Kazakh authorities have long used the vague and overbroad criminal charge of “inciting social, national, tribal, racial, class, or religious discord” to silence individuals for actions and speech that are protected under international human rights law.
In bringing these charges against Omarov, authorities succeeded in silencing him, along with the many other government critics, bloggers, journalists, and activists before him whose politically motivated prosecutions ended with both a conviction and a court-ordered ban on engaging in certain types of broadly defined activities. Such bans are a clear violation of freedom of expression.
Over the last decade, multiple local and international human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, as well as the United Nations Human Rights Committee, the European Parliament, and the OSCE media freedom representative have expressed concern over the Kazakh authorities’ misuse of the criminal charge of “inciting discord” against government critics and others.
Satire is not a crime. While it’s a relief that Omarov was not imprisoned, his conviction should be vacated in full. He is entitled to freedom not only from custody, but from abusive conditions that violate his rights. Kazakhstan should also repeal the vague and overbroad offense of “inciting discord” and stop prosecuting individuals who are doing nothing more than expressing critical views.
