ASTANA -- A date has been set for the trial of the head of the Kazakh Journalists Union and chairman of the National Press Club and his son.
The Esil District court in the Kazakh capital, Astana, held preliminary hearings into the case against Seitqazy Mataev and his son, Aset, on August 3 and decided that their trial will be held on August 23.
The court refused a request to release the defendants on bail.
Mataev and his son, who is the director of the KazTAG news agency, were detained by police in February and later placed under house arrest.
They have been charged with financial fraud. Seitqazy Mataev is also charged with tax evasion.
Both deny any wrongdoing, while rights organizations have denounced the charges as politically motivated.