ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- Independent Kazakh journalist Duman Mukhammedkarim, who is on trial for what he says are politically motivated charges of financing an extremist group and participating in a banned group's activities, has launched another hunger strike to protest against the delay of an investigation into a complaint he filed against jail guards, whom he accused of torture.
Mukhammedkarim's lawyer, Ghalym Nurpeisov, said on April 16 that his client launched the hunger strike three days earlier.
Mukhammedkarim, whose Ne Deidi? (What Do They Say?) YouTube channel is extremely popular in Kazakhstan, was sent to pretrial detention in June 2023 over an online interview he did with the fugitive banker and outspoken critic of the government, Mukhtar Ablyazov.
Ablyazov's Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) movement was declared extremist and banned in March 2018.
As Mukhammedkarim's trial started on February 12, he complained of being beaten by jail guards, prompting prosecutors to launch a probe into the matter. The trial was postponed indefinitely to allow for the investigation.
Mukhammedkarim and his defense team insist that it's illegal to keep him behind bars for such a long period with his trial on hold.
If convicted, Mukhammedkarim could be sentenced to up to 12 years in prison.
Domestic and international right organizations have urged the Kazakh authorities to drop all charges against Mukhammedkarim and release him immediately. Kazakh rights defenders have recognized Mukhammedkarim as a political prisoner.
Rights watchdogs have criticized the authorities in the tightly controlled former Soviet republic for persecuting dissent, but Astana has shrugged the criticism off and denied there are political prisoners in the country.
Kazakhstan was ruled by authoritarian President Nursultan Nazarbaev from its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 until current President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev succeeded him in 2019.
Over the past three decades, several opposition figures have been killed and many jailed or forced to flee the country.
Toqaev, who broadened his powers after Nazarbaev and his family left the oil-rich country's political scene following the deadly, unprecedented anti-government protests in January 2022, has promised political reforms and more freedoms for citizens.
However, many in Kazakhstan consider the reforms announced by Toqaev cosmetic, as a crackdown on dissent has continued even after the president announced his "New Kazakhstan" program.