Paper found in a search can become evidence: keep it carefully.
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Persecuted in Kazakhstan
Draft: not yet checked by a lawyer
The guides below are drafts: a lawyer has not reviewed them yet. This is not legal advice.
Draft What human rights defenders advise
Persecuted in Kazakhstan
- Cases are most often brought for 'false information', 'inciting discord' and membership of a banned group ('Alga, Kazakhstan!'). Keep copies of your posts and do not delete them without legal advice.
- Journalists and bloggers: Adil Soz. Activists and human rights defenders: Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Front Line Defenders (emergency grants).
- Lawyers can lose their licence, as Gulnara Bazhkenova's defence counsel did. Use international mechanisms too: the UN Working Group found Marat Zhylanbayev's detention arbitrary.
- Since 2 March 2026 a ban on 'LGBT propaganda' has been in force (the law was signed on 30 December 2025), and since 2026 an expanded register of foreign funding. Protect your accounts: Access Now can help.
current as of 27 September 2026.
More: HRW: World Report 2026, Kazakhstan; IPHR: pressure on media and the 'LGBT propaganda' law
Who helps
6 organisations · contacts checked against the organisations' sites 26 September 2026
Protects Russians in Kazakhstan from extradition and deportation and helps with asylum; also takes cases of Kazakh activists and journalists.
Helps people already in Kazakhstan; lawyer Artur Alkhastov advises Russians. Entering or transiting Kazakhstan is risky: since January 2026 the authorities have extradited and deported political refugees.
Other ways to reach them: Telegram channel @kibhr
Kazakhstan
Free 24/7 help for activists and journalists: hacked accounts, surveillance, securing accounts and devices. Russian-language support available.
Other ways to reach them: help@accessnow.org
worldwide
Defends free speech in Kazakhstan: a lawyer and defence counsel for journalists and bloggers, violation monitoring, advice on what to do if threatened.
Other ways to reach them: +7 777 400 2210 · info@adilsoz.kz (a call stays in the phone log and with the operator)
Kazakhstan
Emergency support for human rights defenders at risk: protection grants, secure contact, publicity and advocacy after detention.
For people targeted for peaceful human rights work, including activists and journalists.
Other ways to reach them: protection grants
worldwide
Helps torture victims in Kazakhstan and their families: lawyers, medical help, a psychologist, Istanbul Protocol reports for court and compensation claims, UN complaints. Free of charge.
Requests are taken by the offices of the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights. Head office in Almaty, phone +7 708 978 21 03.
Other ways to reach them: +7 708 978 21 03 · about (a call stays in the phone log and with the operator)
Kazakhstan
The EU human rights defenders mechanism: emergency grants, temporary relocation, trial monitoring.
Designated 'undesirable' in Russia. If you travel to Russia, contacting it or joining its events can lead to prosecution, so check with a lawyer.