Anti-Putin Facebook post lands man in prison

dcnf-2Eric Lieberman, DCNF

A Kazakh man who posted comments critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin on social media was sentenced to three years in jail Tuesday by a court in Kazakhstan.

Photo source: Washingtonpost
Photo source: Washingtonpost

Sanat Dosov, 46, was charged for allegedly insulting Putin on a number of occasions, namely publishing an image of former Soviet rulers Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin alongside the current Russian leader, reports International Business Times.

Dosov has reportedly called Putin a terrorist and an enemy before while posting news stories from a Ukrainian site.

Various Kazakh media sources call Dosov a “social activist” and an “entrepreneur,” according to The Diplomat.

Article 174 of the Kazakh criminal code says it it illegal to incite “social, national, generic, racial, class or religious hatred” and to “insult of the national honour and dignity or religious feelings of citizens,” reports The Diplomat.

The language of the law is rather broad, which allows authorities leeway in application and enforcement.

Dosov admitted to posting the content on social media and pleaded guilty because he has six children who need him. His lawyer, though, will reportedly appeal the verdict and argue that Dosov did not commit a crime at all.

In a separate situation, the chief editor of Kazakhstan’s leading news website announced that he was leaving the country out of fears of state punishment. These two incidents exemplify an overarching trend that journalists in Kazakhstan fear prosecution for their work.

Follow Eric on Twitter

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].

DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW

Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!

Success! Thank you for donating. Please share BPR content to help combat the lies.

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

BPR INSIDER COMMENTS

Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!

Latest Articles