Detained Kazakh Journalists Union chief in hospital

Publisher	Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Publication Date	8 April 2016
Cite as	Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Detained Kazakh Journalists Union chief in hospital, 8 April 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5768fff4e.html [accessed 17 September 2023]
Disclaimer	This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

April 08, 2016

By RFE/RL's Kazakh Service

Seitqazy Mataev, the head of the Kazakh Journalists Union and chairman of the National Press Club, has been admitted to hospital.

Mataev, who was charged with embezzlement and tax evasion, has been under house arrest since February.

Health officials at the Cardiology Center in Almaty told RFE/RL that Mataev was admitted with dangerously high blood pressure on April 7.

Mataev was detained by police on February 22. A court in Almaty ordered him to stay under house arrest until his trial.

Kazakhstan's Anticorruption Agency said that Mataev could face up to 12 years in jail if convicted on charges of embezzlement and tax evasion.

Mataev has said he is innocent.

Rights organizations have said Mataev was being prosecuted on trumped-up charges in response to his work as head of the journalists' union.