Kazakh Instagram influencer Temirlan Yesenbek, creator of the satirical news page Qaznews24, is in detention for 2 months while police undertake an investigation into the inclusion of the inciting national discord early-2000s song Yo, Orystar (Yo, Russians) in a recent satirical post. Yesenbek awaits sentencing that could include prohibition from media production, large fines, and/or 2-7 years of restricted freedom or imprisonment.
Critics of Yesenbek’s detention have accused the Almaty justice system of wrongfully suppressing free speech. They see this as the continuation of a previous attempt to silence Yesenbek in 2021 when he was investigated for knowingly disseminating false information. That investigation concluded that Yesenbek’s humorous satire could not qualify as “knowingly false.”
In response to this criticism, the Almaty Police Department stated in a January 21st press conference that Yesenbek’s detention is not due to his satirical news posts, but because he “posted material containing clear signs of incitement of ethnic hatred” against Russians (referencing the song Yo, Russians).
This is not the first time Yo, Russians has incited legal repercussions. Last year, ethnic Russian Maria Kochneva was sentenced to 10 days’ administrative arrest for singing the song at a rap festival. Her crime? “Using profanity in public.”
Human rights expert Tatyana Chernobil argues that Yesenbek could not be criminally charged for posting the song on his Instagram account, as it is not included in the list of materials recognized as extremist and prohibited for publication and distribution within the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan:
“A purely legal perspective: until the song makes the list, it cannot be used as the basis for an accusation under the extremism article. The fact of its absence from the list incriminates not Tamirlan, but the ‘authorized state bodies’ themselves.”
The song itself has been on the Internet since at least 2012. Its authors are unknown, but it has racked up over millions of views and has been posted by several thousand people.
Various picketers displaying the phrase “Сатира – қылмыс емес” (Satire is not a crime) have been detained for violating official procedures for holding peaceful assemblies. Speaking of the picketers, the Almaty Police Department stated, “In support of the offender, several citizens deliberately went out to unauthorized solitary pickets, deliberately violating the established procedure for holding mass events. These actions are also an offense, and by court decision they were brought to administrative responsibility.” The picketers received punishments ranging from fines of 196,000 tenge (375 USD) to 15 days’ detention.
Screenshot of the page Qaznews24’s after Yesenbek’s arrest
Journalists, bloggers and civic activists are routinely harassed in Kazakhstan, facing administrative or criminal charges. Meanwhile, in 2024, Kazakh authorities undertook a campaign to administratively arrest stand-up comics who made political jokes and threatened criminal prosecution of high heel dancers, accusing them of inciting ethnic discord because these dances allegedly do not conform to traditional values.
