Kazakhstan Convicts 19 Activists for Xinjiang Protest

A court in Kazakhstan has convicted 19 activists of inciting discord for participating in a protest last November against China's policies in the Xinjiang region, marking the largest such prosecution in the country's history. The ruling, handed down on April 13 in Taldykorgan, a town southeast of Almaty, sentenced 11 of the defendants to five-year prison terms, while the remaining eight received noncustodial restrictions on their movement and activities. All 19 were also barred from public or political engagement for three years, with two women's prison sentences deferred due to their young children.

The activists, all Kazakh nationals and members of the unregistered Atajurt advocacy group, staged the demonstration near the China-Kazakhstan border to demand the release of Alimnur Turganbay, an ethnic Kazakh citizen detained in Xinjiang since July 2025. Videos of the event show participants burning Chinese flags and a portrait of Chinese President Xi Jinping while chanting slogans calling for Turganbay's freedom and criticizing Beijing's leadership. Turganbay's wife, Guldariya Sherizat, who participated in the protest, described it as a desperate bid to highlight her husband's...