A criminal case has been opened in Kazakhstan against Kazakh journalist Lukpan Akhmedyarov, who covers the issue of Rus...

❗️A criminal case has been opened in Kazakhstan against Kazakh journalist Lukpan Akhmedyarov, who covers the problem of Russia recruiting citizens of Kazakhstan to take part in the war against Ukraine.

In June, Lukpan had already been detained following a request from the Russian Interior Ministry, which opened a criminal case against the journalist under the article on “fakes.” Now Astana police have launched an investigation against the journalist under the article “Dissemination of knowingly false information” after the publication in the outlet “Just Journalism” of a list of citizens of Kazakhstan who are serving or have served in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, which we published earlier.

We receive information about foreign citizens who signed contracts with the Russian army from our sources in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. We know the names and other personal data of more than 28,000 foreign citizens from 135 countries around the world. Among them are at least 2,420 citizens of Kazakhstan. We published this data in a series of materials, and also passed it on during a meeting with the Consul of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Ukraine, Baurzhan Begalimov.

We consider the persecution of journalists for carrying out their professional duties unacceptable, especially in cases where they openly indicate the source of the published information. In Lukpan Akhmedyarov’s materials, that source is explicitly identified as the state project “I Want to Live.”

It is also necessary to understand that the lists we publish contain information obtained from Russian sources and do not always include exhaustive information about each person. That is precisely why one of the purposes of publishing this data is to provide law enforcement agencies, journalists, and OSINT researchers with the opportunity to carry out further verification, clarify the information, and more fully document the facts of foreign citizens’ participation in the war against Ukraine on the side of the Russian Federation.

We hope that the authorities of Kazakhstan will ensure observance of the principles of freedom of speech and will not allow the persecution of Lukpan Akhmedyarov for his lawful journalistic activity.

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