Kazakh stand-up comedian Galym Kaliakbarov has for the first time commented in detail on the incident at his performance in Astana, where the event was interrupted by representatives of the city administration (akimat) and police. The artist stated that he made the decision to cancel subsequent concerts himself, as he is currently undergoing treatment for depression, reports infohub.kz.
As a reminder, on August 19, Kaliakbarov's performance at the Carlin venue in Astana was stopped. The akimat of the Yesil district explained that the organizers had not submitted the required notification for holding a mass event. According to district administration officials, such a procedure is necessary for the rapid coordination of emergency services in case of an emergency.
Akimat representatives went to the venue to explain the legal requirements to the organizers. However, according to the city administration, they were denied access to the establishment.
After that, the organizers were invited to the police department of the Yesil district, where a preventive conversation was held with them. They were explained the requirements of the law and the risks of holding unauthorized mass events. After the conversation, all participants were released.
On August 21, Kaliakbarov was scheduled to perform in Almaty, but the concert was also canceled. Later, the comedian spoke about this on Instagram.
"I canceled my concerts after everything that happened myself. I am currently being treated for depression, and this episode has affected me, and I am not ready to go on stage yet," the artist wrote.
At the same time, Kaliakbarov separately addressed the Almaty akimat and apologized for the negativity that came towards the city administration after the cancellation of his concert.
"I have no complaints against the Almaty akimat. On the contrary, they have always allowed us to hold concerts," he noted.
The comedian also thanked the audience for their support and said that ticket money would be refunded. Those who purchased tickets, according to him, will also be given tickets to the next stand-up concert.
"I'm doing great! Thanks to you! Rakhmet!" added Kaliakbarov.
Answering subscribers' questions about what happened, the artist humorously noted that perhaps now he will start joking about politics.
"The most offensive thing here is that I never really joked about politics," he concluded.
Earlier, Kursiv LifeStyle wrote that director Rinat Balgabaev released a documentary on a topical social issue again. This time, he revealed how depression is treated in Kazakh society.