In Kazakhstan, a blogger's freedom was restricted for five years for a song insulting Russians

Russian Russian blogger Temirlan Yensebek has been sentenced to five years in prison by a court in Kazakhstan for distributing an obscene song insulting Russians on social media (translated from Kazakh: "Yo, Russians." This was announced on April 11 by the court's press service.

"The court imposed a non—custodial sentence on the defendant in the form of five years of restriction of liberty with additional punishment in the form of deprivation of the right to engage in certain activities," the TASS press service quoted the statement as saying.

According to Fergana Agency, Yensebek is prohibited from conducting journalistic, human rights and political activities, as well as participating in peaceful assemblies. The blogger himself pleaded not guilty, and his defense asked to close the case.

The judges noted that the author of the Qaznews24 blog posted a post with a musical composition and text containing "rude obscene language aimed at publicly insulting the national honor and dignity of representatives of another ethnic group." Such actions are aimed at undermining interethnic harmony and unity of the people, which is one of the fundamental principles of the republic, the press service of the instance emphasized.

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In January, a chauvinistic Russian song "Yo, Orystar" appeared on 22 Internet resources and on the online platforms TikTok, YouTube and VKontakte in Kazakhstan. Deputy Prosecutor General Galymzhan Koigeldiev said that a criminal case has been opened against Kazakhstani satirical blogger Temirlan Yensebek for distributing songs with signs of inciting ethnic hatred. On January 17, he was detained.

On February 1, Vice Minister of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan Evgeny Kochetov announced that the TikTok social network had deleted the specified track after the appeal of the Ministry of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan to the administration of the online platform.