Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law
Kazakhstan · KIBHR
01Overview
Quick Facts
CountryKazakhstan
Age / Sexmale
OccupationActivist
Arrested inTaldykorgan
StatusOn trial
Kazakhstan · context
120documented cases
45 urgent · 15 report torture
Most common grounds
Journalism
19
Ethnic
1
Social Media
5
Activism
27
Content advisory.This case includes reports of torture or ill-treatment. The descriptions may be distressing.
Reports of Torture or Ill-treatment.
Reported to have been subjected to physical abuse or severe ill-treatment in detention, according to available sources. Such treatment, where established, violates international law.
Case Summary
An activist facing criminal charges following a peaceful protest in November 2025. He requires medical assistance for health problems allegedly linked to torture experienced in a Chinese internment camp.
Key Facts
08 entries- 01An activist is facing criminal charges following a peaceful protest in November 2025.
- 02The charges involve inciting national discord under Article 174(2).
- 03The individual has reportedly lost his eyesight while in custody.
- 04The trial is being held in the Enbekshikazakh District Court of Almaty Region.
- 05Activists affiliated with the Atajurt movement were detained on 13 November 2025.
- 06They were protesting the persecution of ethnic Kazakhs in China.
- 07They face charges under Article 174(2) of the Criminal Code.
- 08The case has been referred to court for a hearing in January 2026.
May contain extraction or translation errors.
Native-Language SummaryRU • Original
An activist facing criminal charges following a peaceful protest in November 2025. He requires medical assistance for health problems allegedly linked to torture experienced in a Chinese internment camp.
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02Charges
Charges
02 count- 01inciting national discord
- 02incitement to ethnic, national, or other discord
Criminal Code Articles
01 articleArticle 174(2)
All documented cases under
03Legal framework
How to read this section
This is a plain reading of published international standards against the facts recorded on this page. It is not a finding. No court, treaty body or UN special procedure has ruled on this case, and The Detained makes no assessment of guilt, innocence or state responsibility. Each entry below appears because a specific field on this record brings the standard into play, and says which field that was.
Standards engaged
05- 01Liberty and security of personICCPR, Article 9
Nobody may be deprived of liberty except on grounds and by procedures established by law. Anyone detained is entitled to have a court decide the lawfulness of the detention without delay, and to compensation if the detention was unlawful.
On this record: This record documents a deprivation of liberty beginning with the arrest recorded below.
Treaty text - 02Pre-trial detention as the exceptionICCPR, Article 9(3)
Detention before trial is meant to be the exception, not the rule. A person held on a criminal charge is entitled to trial within a reasonable time or to release, with release conditions where a guarantee of appearance is needed.
On this record: No verdict is recorded on this file, so the person is held pending proceedings.
Treaty text - 03Presumption of innocenceICCPR, Article 14(2)
Everyone charged with a criminal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law. Public authorities are not to prejudge the outcome.
On this record: Proceedings on this file are recorded as still open.
Treaty text - 04Fair hearing before an independent tribunalICCPR, Article 14
A fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law, with adequate time and facilities to prepare a defence, counsel of the person’s own choosing, and the right to examine witnesses.
On this record: This record carries a criminal prosecution under Article 174(2).
Treaty text - 05Freedom from torture and ill-treatmentICCPR and CAT, ICCPR article 7; CAT articles 2, 12, 13 and 15
The prohibition is absolute and no circumstance whatever may be invoked to justify it. Where there are reasonable grounds to believe torture has occurred, the state must carry out a prompt and impartial investigation on its own initiative, and any statement established to have been obtained by torture may not be used as evidence in any proceedings.
On this record: Torture or ill-treatment is reported on this file. The report has not been adjudicated by any court or treaty body.
Treaty text
Where a case like this is filed
- UN Working Group on Arbitrary DetentionRoute open
Individual complaint asking the Working Group to find the detention arbitrary and to name a remedy.
Open for every state. Domestic remedies do not have to be exhausted first, and the person’s consent or that of their family is normally required.
How to submit - UN special proceduresRoute open
An urgent appeal or allegation letter to the Special Rapporteur on torture.
Mandate holders can write to a government within days, which is why this is the fastest route on the list.
How to submit - UN Human Rights CommitteeRoute open
Individual communication under the First Optional Protocol, alleging breaches of the Covenant articles listed above.
Domestic remedies must be exhausted, or shown to be unavailable or ineffective in practice.
How to submit - UN Committee against TortureRoute open
Individual complaint under article 22 of the Convention against Torture.
This state has made the article 22 declaration, so the Committee can receive individual complaints.
How to submit
Filing on someone else's behalf can carry real consequences for them and for their family. The people closest to a case should decide whether it is submitted, and a lawyer or an experienced organisation should draft it.
AI-assisted analysis — read first
Every model behind the scores on this page was built and trained in-house, on our own case documentation — nothing is delegated to a black box. We work glass-box: each score opens to show the exact factors that moved it (the "Why this score?" panels), and the full training and calibration methodology is public.
Models miss nuance. Scores, predictions, and summaries on this page are produced by statistical and language models from the documents we have collected. They can be incomplete or wrong, and they cannot capture the legal nuance of an individual case — sentencing above all, where outcomes turn on circumstances no model sees.
Not for court. Do not cite these figures directly in court or in legal proceedings. They are research aids, not evidence and not legal advice. Verify every detail against the original sources listed on this page before relying on it.
Not a verdict. Our findings describe patterns in the data we have documented. They are not a determination that any individual case is unjust — that judgment belongs to the people involved, their families, and competent courts and tribunals.
04Timeline
Case Timeline
Arrest date
November 13, 2025
06Sources
Data Source
Designation
Documented by Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights. Assessed by The Detained against the Guidelines on the Definition of Political Prisoner.
No national body issues recognition statements under the Guidelines in Kazakhstan.
How designations workSource vs. TD analysis
KIBHRCase facts, charges, dates, and status.
TD analysisRisk, surveillance & sentence estimates — probabilistic, not the source's reporting.
View all data sources →Cite this case
The Detained. (2026). Case file: Tursynbek Kabi (TD case cmplxo1j, record version 2026-10-15). Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://thedetained.org/prisoners/tursynbek-kabi-cmplxo1js00031vr3co1d9qdn. Designation: Documented by Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights; assessed by The Detained against the Guidelines on the Definition of Political Prisoner. Original data from Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law (https://bureau.kz/en/news/kibhr_statements/verdict-looming-in-trial/#tursynbek-kabiy).
Formats reflect this case as an online database record. Always verify the original source before citing in legal filings.