Accessibility links

Breaking News

Ethnic Russian Pleads Not Guilty To Hate Charge In Kazakhstan


An ethnic Russian Kazakh citizen charged with inciting ethnic hatred over derogatory references to Kazakhs and calls for the country to become part of Russia has pleaded not guilty.

Tatyana Shevtsova-Valova entered her plea on January 12 in a court in Almaty.

The judge then adjourned the trial until January 23 because Shevtsova's lawyer was not present.

Investigators say that in posts in social networks, Shevtsova-Valova called Kazakhs "churki" -- an offensive word sometimes used by Russians to describe non-Slavic peoples in Central Asia and the Caucasus -- and wrote that Kazakhstan must become part of Russia, like Crimea.

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine last March in a move denounced as illegal by Kyiv and the West.

Moscow's annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine have raised concerns about the Kremlin's intentions in Kazakhstan, whose northern regions have large ethnic Russian minorities.

Shevtsova-Valova told journalists after the hearing that somebody else wrote the statements attributed to her on the Internet.

If found guilty, she could be sentenced to seven years in prison.

  • 16x9 Image

    RFE/RL's Kazakh Service

    RFE/RL's Kazakh Service offers informed and accurate reporting in the Kazakh and Russian languages about issues that matter in Kazakhstan, while providing a dynamic platform for audience engagement and the free exchange of news and ideas.

RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.

If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.

To find out more, click here.

XS
SM
MD
LG