Kazakh authorities continued to heavily restrict freedoms of expression, association, and assembly. Authorities persisted in prosecuting government critics on overbroad “extremism” charges. In January, the UN Human Rights Council carried out Kazakhstan’s fourth Universal Periodic Review. Kazakhstan did not support several key recommendations, including more than a dozen concerning (lesbian, gay, bisexual, or trans) LGBT rights. In July, the UN Human Rights Committee reviewed Kazakhstan’s compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, highlighting a range of serious concerns including Kazakhstan’s misuse of counterterrorism laws and “use of force and acts of torture against members of civil society.”
Accountability and Justice
On January 17, an Almaty Region court found six police officers guilty of torturing detainees arrested in the aftermath of large-scale anti-government protests in January 2022 that left 238 dead and hundreds injured; the court sentenced each officer to three years in prison. In June, the verdict was upheld on appeal.
On May 5, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) issued its trial monitoring report on January 2022-related criminal trials. The report identified multiple practices contrary to international fair trial standards and emphasized “the need for effective measures to ensure that the rights of the accused are fully protected.”
Several dozen police officers have been convicted for torture tied to the January 2022 events, yet the government has failed to carry out a comprehensive and effective investigation into the serious loss of life and other grave human rights violations during and after the protests. In its concluding observations, the UN Human Rights Committee called on Kazakhstan to conduct “prompt, thorough, effective, transparent and impartial investigations into all allegations of torture and ill-treatment, including those related to the January 2022 events” and adopt “comprehensive legislation governing the use of force by law enforcement officers, in full compliance with international standards.”
Government Opponents and Other Critics
Authorities persisted in keeping government critics and opposition figures locked up in retaliation for their peaceful activism. Marat Zhylanbaev, an opposition activist imprisoned for seven years on politically motivated charges in November 2023, staged an extended hunger strike in early 2025 and is in deteriorating health. In April, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found Kazakhstan in breach of multiple human rights obligations over Zhylanbaev’s detention and called for his “immediate” release.
The journalist Duman Mukhammadkarim, imprisoned in August 2024 for seven years, continues to languish in prison, also in deteriorating health. In December 2024, he was transferred to a prison in Kyzylorda, over one thousand kilometers from his home, despite regulations that allow him to serve his sentence near family.
An Almaty court on August 26 found Aidar Mubarakov, Nurlan Zhauylbaev, Fazylzhan Syzdykov, Nurlan Temirgaliev, and Zhanat Kazakhbai—civil activists who in 2024 had criticized the construction of a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan—guilty of preparing to organize mass riots and sentenced each to four years’ non-custodial restricted freedom.
People in Kazakhstan convicted on overbroad “extremism” and “terrorism” charges—even those who have not participated in, instigated, or financed violence—continue to be automatically subject to wide-ranging financial restrictions that interfere with their economic and social rights.
Human Rights Defenders
Public officials expressed anti-NGO rhetoric in early 2025. In April, President Kassym Jomart Tokaev publicly accused human rights groups and journalists of “organizing provocations” and trying to create a negative image of Kazakhstan. Other officials, including members of parliament, called for the adoption of an anti-NGO law.
In May 2025, Kazakhstan’s Ombudsman issued a public statement against Kazakhstan’s Coalition Against Torture, calling information the group of experts and rights defenders had submitted to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture “biased” and “non-credible.” He accused the coalition of trying to “distort reality” and “manipulate public opinion.”
On July 31, an Almaty administrative court found the human rights defender Bakhytzhan Toregozhina guilty of “disseminating knowingly false information” and fined her 78,640 tenge (about US$145). The court concluded that her Facebook post expressing concern over the imprisoned activist Zhylanbaev’s deteriorating health “created conditions for violating public order, the rights and legitimate interests of citizens or organizations or legally protected interests of society or the state.”
Freedom of Expression
Independent journalists continue to be targeted by the authorities in retaliation for their critical reporting. On April 10, Astana police detained the investigative journalist Lukpan Akhmedyarov and held him for several hours for questioning in connection with a criminal investigation on charges of “disseminating knowingly false information.” Days prior, Akhmedyarov had reported on Kazakhstan citizens being lured to fight in Russia’s war in Ukraine.
On April 11, an Almaty court sentenced the founder of the satirical Instagram account Qaznews24, Temirlan Ensebek, to five years’ restricted freedom on criminal charges of “inciting interethnic discord” in connection with an Instagram post he had uploaded in January 2024 to the Qaznews24 account, although prosecutors had presented no evidence that Ensebek’s post had incited violence, discrimination, or hostility.
In June and July, Kazakhstan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry refused to accredit a total of 16 Radio Azattyk journalists, barring them from carrying out their professional activities. Radio Azattyk sued the ministry, but the Astana Administrative court in August rejected the claims for seven of the journalists, and in September 2025, those of the other nine.
Peaceful Assembly
The right to peaceful assembly continues to be heavily restricted and policed. People who try to protest peacefully in Kazakhstan are detained, fined, subject to preventative arrests, or sentenced to short-term detention.
In January, police detained nearly a dozen activists for protesting the blogger Temirlan Ensebek’s detention, including Ruslan Biketov and Asem Zhapisheva, who were sentenced by an Almaty court to 15 days' detention for staging “unsanctioned” single-person protests in support of Ensebek. Courts imposed fines on several others.
For the fourth year in a row, Almaty city authorities refused to grant women’s rights activists permission to hold an International Women’s Day gathering on March 8, claiming it would “threaten public order.” Police detained women’s rights activists Zhanar Sekerbaeyva and Aktorgyn Akkenzhebalasy in late February. An Almaty court sentenced each to 10 days’ detention, preventing both from participating in any March 8 events.
Violence against Women
Kazakhstan has in the last two years adopted legislation to better tackle violence against women. After recriminalizing battery and light bodily harm in April 2024, parliament in May adopted legal reforms to criminalize forced marriage and stalking. The law on forced marriage came into force on September 16. However, serious gaps remain. Protections for women from abuse under existing laws are insufficient and poorly enforced. Critically, domestic violence is not criminalized as a stand-alone offense.
Authorities prosecuted Elvira Erkebayeva, a domestic violence survivor from Uralsk, for conspiracy to murder her abusive ex-husband, in a case highlighting police failure to respond adequately to cases of domestic violence. On August 25, an Uralsk court sentenced her to three years’ restricted freedom and ordered her to be released from the courtroom.
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
On February 15, the Karakalpak activist Akylbek Muratbai, from Uzbekistan, was released from detention in Almaty after spending a year under extradition arrest. He is wanted in Uzbekistan for “disseminating materials containing a threat to public safety and order.” Kazakhstan rejected Muratbai’s asylum claim, a decision Kazakhstan’s Supreme Court upheld on September 23.
On August 31, Kazakh authorities detained Yulia Emelyanova, a Russian opposition activist who was in transit at Almaty International Airport. Emelyanova is wanted in Russia on bogus charges of theft in retaliation for her political activism. At time of writing, Emelyanova remained in detention, and her asylum claim was under review.
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
On November 12, lawmakers adopted legal amendments banning “propaganda of non-traditional sexual orientation.” Should the law go into force, disseminating information about or supporting the rights of LGBT people will be considered an administrative offense, punishable by up to 10 days’ detention or fines.
Kazakhstan does not have legislation prohibiting discrimination based on a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. In July, the UN Human Rights Committee expressed concern about the lack of legal protections for LGBT people and called on Kazakhstan to “redouble its efforts to combat discrimination, stereotypes and prejudice” against these populations.