Ramazan Yesergepov

Ramazan Yesergepov (Kazakh: Рамазан Есіргепов, Ramazan Esirgepov, رامازان ەسٸرگەپوۆ; Russian: Рамазан Тахтарович Есергепов, Ramazan Takhtarovich Yesergepov) is a jailed Kazakhstani journalist, whose arrest led to international concerns about the freedom of the media in Kazakhstan. Prior to his arrest he was the editor of Alma-Ata Info.

Yesergepov is married to Raushan Yesergepova.

Yesergepov founded Alma-Ata Info in 2005. In 2006, the newspaper was charged under Administrative Code Article 342 for alleged violations of the law on mass media; namely, the Almaty City Council claimed that the newspaper had changed its thematic focus but failed to register the change with the government. The newspaper faced a maximum fine of T206,000 (roughly US$1600). Yesergepov believed the real reason for the charges was retaliation for articles criticising the authorities.

In November 2008, Yesergepov published a piece entitled "Who Rules the Country: President or National Security Committee?", featuring private correspondence from the chief of the Jambyl Regional Department of the National Security Committee. The NSC then listed the document as classified information, and ordered Yesergepov to reveal his sources. Around the same time, Yesergepov suffered an infarction and went to obtain medical care; due to his hospitalisation, he did not attend an interrogation as ordered, even after his release from hospital.

On 6 January 2009, officers of the NSC's Jambyl department detained Yesergepov on charges of "unlawful compilation and proliferation of information containing state secrets" and "abuse of position". The initial charges were brought under Penal Code Article 172 Part 2, carrying a maximum sentence of three years. However, the Taraz District Court #2 then decided to charge Yesergepov under Part 4 of the same article instead, meaning that he could face up to eight years in prison. In August 2009 he was sentenced to three years in prison; the Supreme Court rejected an appeal to investigate the legality of the decision. Yesergepov's case returned to the Taraz court, which upheld the original sentence in October 2009.

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