Kazakhstan Jails Activists for Peaceful Xinjiang Protest

Click to expand Image Special police forces in a Kazakh court on the day of the sentencing of 19 people accused of "inciting ethnic hatred." Taldykorgan, April 13, 2026. © 2026 Melirim Bakytzhanqyzy/RFE/RL <p>A Kazakh court convicted today 19 Kazakhstan citizens for participating in a peaceful protest against human rights abuses in Xinjiang, China.</p><p>During the protest, which took place in November 2025, activists from the Nagyz Atajurt Volunteers Group condemned Chinese government abuses, some of which amount to&nbsp;crimes against humanity. They called for the release of a Kazakh citizen, Alimnur Turganbay, originally from Xinjiang, who has been detained by Chinese authorities on unknown grounds since July 2025, and burned Chinese flags and a portrait of the President Xi Jinping.</p><p>A day after the protest, the Chinese consulate in Almaty urged Kazakh authorities to “take appropriate measures.” Local authorities then opened a criminal investigation against the activists.</p><p>According to&nbsp;media reports, 11 activists were sentenced to five years for “inciting discord”; the sentences of two women are deferred due to having small children. Eight others were given noncustodial “restricted freedom” sentences on the same charges. The court banned all the defendants from engaging in public or political activities for three years.</p><p>Authorities in Kazakhstan have long&nbsp;misused the vague and overly broad offence of “inciting discord” to suppress critical and dissenting voices, despite&nbsp;concerns from international human rights bodies. But this is the first time Kazakh authorities have imprisoned such a large group of activists advocating for human rights in Xinjiang.</p><p>Kazakhstan shares a long border with China and is home to a sizable Uyghur and Kazakh diaspora from Xinjiang. Since 2016, Chinese authorities have punished Uyghurs and Kazakhs who have foreign ties by detaining and arbitrarily imprisoning those who have family in, or who have visited, any of the so-called “26 sensitive countries,” including Kazakhstan. In recent years, the Chinese government has also escalated its&nbsp;harassment of critics abroad, known as&nbsp;“transnational repression.”</p><p>Kazakh authorities have previously&nbsp;harassed activists protesting Beijing’s abuses and&nbsp;subjected them to arbitrary arrests and short-term detention, but the mass prosecution of Atajurt activists on criminal charges, and harsh sentences, sends a chilling message: publicly protesting against abuses in China in Kazakhstan will not be tolerated. With this heavy-handed prosecution and punishment, the Kazakh government has made it clear that it is only too willing to sacrifice the freedoms of its citizens in an apparent attempt to maintain increasingly cozy relations with Beijing.</p>