Activist Temirlan Yensebek was not allowed to attend his own trial. While this could be a headline from Yensebek’s satirical site Qaznews24, this is unfortunately true. On April 11 in Almaty, Judge Beinegul Kaisina sentenced the journalist to five years of “restricted freedom” (a form of non-custodial sentence) along with a ban on journalism and public engagement, among other penalties. In the small courtroom where the three-day trial took place, there was no room for the defendant. Col...
