Kazakh Blogger Detained for 10 Days Over False Information About Fatal Crash

Almaty blogger Adiletkhan Moldakhan has been placed in pre-trial detention for ten days on charges of spreading deliberately false information. The case is linked to his online publications about a fatal traffic accident on Al-Farabi Avenue.

The Almaty Police Department confirmed that a criminal investigation has been initiated under Part 1 of Article 274 of the Criminal Code, which deals with the dissemination of knowingly false information. The court sanctioned his arrest as a preventive measure.

The charges stem from videos and posts made by Moldakhan, who has over one million followers on Instagram, concerning a crash that claimed three lives. In his content, he suggested that a law enforcement officer might have been involved in the incident.

In an unusual move, police publicly disclosed details of Moldakhan's past. They confirmed he is a former police officer who was dismissed from the internal affairs bodies on negative grounds. The department stated his actions had "discredited the title of a police officer, betrayed the oath and the honor of the uniform."

Furthermore, authorities revealed that Moldakhan has a prior criminal conviction. In March 2023, he was found guilty of robbery committed by a group of individuals by prior conspiracy. The court established that he organized an attack on a citizen who had arrived with money to purchase housing. The assailants pursued the victim's car, forcibly stopped it, applied violence, and openly seized a large sum of money before fleeing. For this crime, he was sentenced to restriction of freedom with probationary control.

The sanction under Article 274 provides for penalties including a fine of up to 1000 Monthly Calculation Index (approximately 4.3 million tenge in 2026), up to 400 hours of community service, or restriction or deprivation of liberty for up to one year. Police have declined to provide further details on the current case, citing the secrecy of the investigation.