An administrative case against blogger Yerbolat Zhanabylov under Part 1 of Article 73 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Republic of Kazakhstan ("Unlawful acts in the sphere of family and domestic relations") has begun in Astana. Presiding Judge Asiya Suleimenova ordered the proceedings to be held behind closed doors and asked members of the press to leave the courtroom, infohub.kz reports.
At the very start of the hearing, the judge informed the parties that journalists were present in the courtroom and asked the participants for their views on filming and the presence of media representatives.
The injured party spoke out against publicity. The blogger's wife, Elmira Tolegenova, said she did not want to put the family conflict on public display. "I would like to keep personal relations behind closed doors," she stressed in court.
The defendant himself also supported the motion. "I ask that no one film me and that journalists not be present, because this is private life, domestic matters," Zhanabylov added.
Given the motion filed by the parties, Judge Asiya Suleimenova asked journalists to leave the courtroom. The public and the media were promised to be informed of the results of the proceedings and the final verdict through the official press service.
Earlier, Elmira Tolegenova said that her husband, together with his brothers, tried to get to her, forcibly take personal belongings and phones, and also deleted her posts to prevent publicity. While Tolegenova was recording video on a dying second smartphone and showing red marks on her hands, an outcry began online with calls for police to intervene.
Later, those recordings disappeared from her profile, and Elmira herself denied the facts of physical abuse, explaining her action as an attempt to save the phone. She announced that she was in divorce proceedings with Zhanabylov and asked that what was happening not be considered hype.
The blogger's detention occurred against the backdrop of existing legal problems. As it turned out, on August 28, Zhanabylov violated the requirements of probation control — after 10:00 p.m. he was not at the specified place of residence. Materials on this fact had also previously been sent to court for a procedural decision.
Recall that in the spring of 2026, the blogger couple Zhanabylov attracted the attention of law enforcement agencies due to proceedings around their business activities, and at the end of September, Elmira Tolegenova publicly announced the start of divorce proceedings.