Ex-Orda Editor-in-Chief Sentenced to 8 Years
A court in Kazakhstan sentenced the former editor-in-chief of the publication Orda to eight years in prison on charges of 'spreading false information'. The journalist Gulnara Bazhkenova was sentenced by the court of the Bostandyk district of Almaty.
Consensus
- Gulnara Bajkenova was sentenced to eight years in prison by the Bostandyk District Court in Almaty.
- The court found her guilty of spreading false information, embezzlement of funds, and illegal entrepreneurship.
- The sentence includes a two-year delay in serving the punishment due to her having a minor child.
- She was banned from journalistic, public, and leadership activities for five years.
- The case involved eight publications from Orda that were deemed false information.
- Two of the eight articles were written by Bajkenova; the rest were authored by former staff members.
- Bajkenova did not admit guilt and claimed her financial actions were tax optimization and salary payments.
- The court acknowledged that 83 million tenge were transferred to a staff member’s account and later used to pay journalists.
- The prosecution requested an eight-year sentence, which was granted.
- The case was initiated in December 2025 following searches at her apartment and the Orda office.
- The court ruled that Bajkenova received over 121 million tenge from property transactions without being registered as an individual entrepreneur.
- The court also found her guilty of failing to pay over 12 million tenge in taxes.
Points of divergence
- The court stated that part of the embezzled funds was used to pay for her son's education at a private international school. — novaya_eu
- The court rejected Bajkenova's request for amnesty announced in connection with the new Constitution, despite her appeal. — tg_echoonline_news
- The investigation was triggered by two specific articles: one about a police officer's bribe and another about property damage, both of which were officially denied by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Security Committee, and Ministry of Information. — kommerant
- Bajkenova expressed doubt about whether her sacrifice would have any impact on Kazakh society. — tvrain
- The court confirmed that the transferred funds were used to pay journalists after being cashed out. — tg_tvrain
Coverage (6 sources)
- Former editor of Kazakh publication Orda sentenced to eight years in prison — Новая газета Европа
- Court in Kazakhstan sentenced former editor-in-chief of Orda magazine to eight years in prison on charges of 'spreading false information' — ЭХО / Новости
- In Kazakhstan, former editor-in-chief of Orda sentenced to eight years for 'spreading false information' — Настоящее Время
- Gulnara Bazhkenova, former editor-in-chief of Orda, sentenced to 8 years — Дождь
- Former ORDA editor-in-chief Gulnara Bazhkenova given eight years in prison — Коммерсантъ
- In Kazakhstan, the former editor-in-chief of the Orda publication was sentenced to eight years for 'spreading false information' — Дождь (Telegram)