Almaty, Kazakhstan, Feb 6, 2019 (AFP)
A Kazakh woman standing trial over political posts she wrote on a messenger application was found not guilty Wednesday, her lawyer said, months after her husband was sentenced to jail in a similar case.
A court in Aktau, a city in western Kazakhstan, acquitted Aigul Akberdi of calling for "forcible overthrow of the constitutional order" in posts on the Telegram messenger app, her lawyer Zhanara Sundetkaliyeva told AFP.
The judge found there was "no evidence" to convict the mother of four, and said the probe contained violations, the lawyer added.
The verdict was greeted by observers as a rare victory for long-suffering civil society in the authoritarian Centraql Asian country.
Akberdi was seen weeping with joy in scenes broadcast live on Facebook. "Forward, Kazakhstan!" she cried.
In her Telegram post, Akberdi called on Kazakhs to "rise up" against the regime of long-reigning President Nursultan Nazarbayev, but later insisted she was referring to peaceful protests.
Her husband Ablovas Jumayev was sentenced to three years imprisonment after he was found guilty in September of inciting social hatred on Telegram and calling for overthrowing the government by distributing leaflets.
He maintained he was innocent. The couple participated in an opposition Telegram chat group.
Kazakhstan's oil-rich west has been a region of concern to 78-year-old Nazarbayev ever since clashes between striking oil workers and government troops in 2011 left at least 14 dead and scores injured.
Rights groups have criticised his three-decade reign for giving no voice to political opposition or independent media.
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Sumber : AFP