In Kazakhstan the author of a YouTube channel has been arrested and charged with the extremist offence of ‘inciting discord’ for making jokes about the country’s president and government policies. This is the second satirist in recent times to be prosecuted for political jokes. And while it is already well known that Kazakhstan’s authorities exercise tight control over the artistic sphere, the situation appears to be worsening.
On the basis of Article 174 of Kazakhstan’s Criminal Code, which prohibits the incitement of social, national, religious, class, or racial discord, police officers in Astana arrested Azamat Omarov. He has been placed in pre-trial detention for two months. If convicted, he could face seven to ten years in prison.
On 21 July, Azamat Omarov, a Kazakh satirical YouTuber and founder of the channel “Achual Today” (“Situation Today”), was detained. His videos primarily use irony and satire to criticize the concentration of state power in the hands of a single individual. Although his content was intended to entertain, one of his latest videos, in which he discussed the current President, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and his predecessor, Nursultan Nazarbayev, was removed.
This is not the first time Omarov has been targeted by the authorities. In April 2026, he was reportedly forced to delete his YouTube channel following pressure from law enforcement.
“The statements are ironic and critical, while creating a negative perception among the population,” The Court stated.
Since 18 July, Omarov has remained in custody. Furthermore, because the case has not been made fully public, citing Article 201 of Kazakhstan’s Criminal Procedure Code, human rights groups reported that one of his latest videos, entitled “Obnury + Nursultan’s Mosque”, had been removed following a copyright complaint.
The persecution of Kazakh artists has intensified alongside increasing state control over media content. Indeed, Article 174 of the Criminal Code has repeatedly been used against satirical artists.
One of the most notable cases is that of Temirlan Ensebek, founder of the satirical Instagram account QazNews24. He was arrested under Article 174 in January 2025over a satirical post that had been published a year earlier. He was ultimately sentenced to five years of restricted freedom, despite the absence of convincing evidence establishing his guilt.
Article 174 has also been used to prosecute individuals including for criticizing Vladimir Putin, opposing constitutional reforms, and even expressing support for protesters against the Chinese government or speaking out about the situation in Xinjiang.
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