An Almaty court convicted a leading independent editor of spreading false information, embezzlement and illegal business days before Kazakhstan's snap election; her outlet then shut down

On August 18, 2026, Almaty's Bostandyk District Court convicted Gulnara Bazhkenova, founder and former editor-in-chief of independent outlet Orda.kz, of knowingly disseminating false information, embezzlement of entrusted property and illegal entrepreneurship. It sentenced her to eight years in a medium-security prison, deferred for two years because she has a minor child, and barred her from journalism and media management roles for five years.