Public activist Ravkat Mukhtarov reported that on January 26 he filed a complaint with the city akim's office against the decision of the Almaty akim for refusing to hold a rally in support of Ukraine. About this activist posted in his telegram channel.
Mukhtarov reports that at the end of December last year, he filed a notice to hold an anti-war rally on February 25, 2023 in the city of Almaty. The akimat refused him with the wording about "the existence of a threat of violation of public order during a peaceful meeting on the stated topic."
In the text of the submitted complaint, its author indicates that the decision of the akimat "is not justified and is only an excuse for suppressing my right as a citizen of Kazakhstan to peaceful assembly, which is guaranteed by the Constitution."
Ravkat Mukhtarov reminds that the rally on the stated topic was held in 2022 and "no significant violation of order was noticed, on the contrary, an unprecedented number of our citizens gathered at the last rally, where those who wished were able to express their disagreement with Russian politics in a peaceful and very civil manner."
"I believe that in this case my rights as a citizen are being suppressed, as a formal reason for refusal is used, which can be applied to absolutely any rally, but in general to all public events. I consider the decision subjective and politically motivated. That is why I ask you to study this topic and still allow the rally to be held on the stated topic," the activist wrote in the text of the complaint, which, according to him, was accepted through E-otinish (the official site for receiving and processing electronic appeals and online petitions of citizens of Kazakhstan).
Mukhtarov added that in the event of a repeated refusal to hold the rally, he plans to file a lawsuit against the akimat and all responsible persons for "exceeding authority".
After the start of the war in Ukraine, people in Kazakhstan repeatedly went to protest actions against Russia's military aggression. Anti-war rallies in support of Ukraine took place in Kazakhstan mostly without coordination with the local authorities. Many of them ended with activists being detained and brought to administrative responsibility.
The only permitted rally in support of Ukraine, held at the moment in Kazakhstan, took place in Almaty on March 6. The rally gathered thousands of participants.
