The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) condemns the initiation of criminal proceedings by Almaty Police Department against lawyers Zhanna Urazbakhova and Gabit Bekitayev in Almaty. The ICJ believes that these proceedings are likely to have been undertaken in response to the lawful exercise of their professional duties.
On 12 December 2024, Urazbakhova and Bekitayev held a press conference where they spoke about their clients’ legal positions regarding an ongoing case involving a high-profile property dispute. On 27 December, the Almaty Police Department initiated criminal proceedings against both lawyers pursuant to Article 423 of Kazakhstan’s Criminal Code, alleging unauthorized disclosure of pre-trial investigation information. Urazbakhova and Bekitayev reject these allegations, maintaining that they did not disclose any confidential information and that the press conference was intended solely to convey their clients’ assertions of innocence. They credibly argue that they had not signed any non-disclosure agreement related to the case materials and that their statements at the press conference were fully in line with their professional duties and ethical obligations.
The ICJ considers that initiating criminal proceedings against Urazbakhova and Bekitayev, in the apparent absence of any indicia of wrongdoing beyond their legitimate professional activities, constitutes undue interference with the exercise of their professional functions, in contravention of Kazakh law and international standards on the independence of the legal profession.
