QONAEV, Kazakhstan -- A court in southern Kazakhstan has reduced the sentence of noted dissident Ermek Narymbaev (aka Narymbai), rejecting rulings from lower courts that refused to grant him an early release.
Narymbaev's lawyer, Zhanar Balghabaeva, said on July 13 that the court agreed to 11 months of probation, as requested by prosecutors, as well as a fine and a ban on participating in public events, such as rallies and demonstrations.
Balghabaeva added that Narymbaev should be released from prison after 15 days if the prosecutor's office does not object to the court's change to the sentence.
A lower court, citing a violation of internal regulations allegedly committed by Narymbaev at the penal colony where he is incarcerated, had previously ruled against his early release.
The 52-year-old, who has been included on a list of "political prisoners" created by local human rights defenders, has been jailed several times for his political views and is known as a staunch critic of the tightly controlled former Soviet republic's government.
He fled Kazakhstan in 2016 for Ukraine after receiving death threats from unknown individuals. Narymbaev said at the time that the threats were masterminded by Kazakh authorities in a bid to intimidate him.
He returned to Kazakhstan in February 2022 after unprecedented anti-government rallies shook the Central Asian nation the month before, leaving at least 238 people dead.
He was arrested upon his arrival in Almaty and sent to prison for 30 months to serve the remainder of a previous suspended prison term he was handed in 2015 on a charge of inciting hatred, which he called politically motivated.
In October and November, Narymbaev held a hunger strike for 54 days to protest against his incarceration. He also demanded democratic reforms from the government. He lost 41 kilograms during the hunger strike.
