FBRK.KZ

Journalist Asset Mataev has been released from pre-trial detention and placed under house arrest in a case of hooliganism. According to lawyer Rena Kerimova, the defence had long sought a change in the restrictive measure, while she had previously reported health issues experienced by her client following his arrest.

A court in the Pavlodar region found a man guilty of murdering businesswoman Yelena Kuzmich, which was staged as a drowning accident. According to the court, the motive was a property dispute over a limited liability company worth more than 125 million tenge. The defendant was sentenced to 15 years in prison; the verdict has not yet entered into legal force.

In Almaty, lawyer and blogger Adiletkhan Moldakhan has been detained and placed in a temporary detention facility. A pre-trial investigation has been launched against him for the dissemination of deliberately false information. He had previously been actively commenting on the high-profile traffic accident on Al-Farabi Avenue, putting forward his own versions of events.

In Ust-Kamenogorsk, the ecology department of the East Kazakhstan region has identified excessive emission levels at the Kaztsink LLP enterprise during adverse weather conditions. The company has been fined 20 million tenge and issued an order to rectify the violations. The enterprise has previously faced penalties, and city residents complained about smog, following which Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov announced an inspection by the General Prosecutor's Office.

In the village of Naberezhnoye, Denisovsky District, Kostanay Region, the only road has been flooded due to high water, isolating residents. Local authorities have stated that the situation is under control and that an alternative route exists, but residents claim there is none. Similar incidents have previously been recorded in other regions, including Akmola Region.

In Almaty, a man armed with a knife attacked an ambulance crew that had arrived at the scene of a call, threatened the medics and chased them. The incident was reported on the Instagram account of ambulance substation No. 7; the suspect has been detained, and a criminal case has been opened under Article 380-3 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

In the Ulytau region, police officers intercepted a drug supply channel, detaining five suspects on the Zhezkazgan–Karaganda highway. Over 300 kg of cannabis was seized, with an estimated value of up to $3 million. The suspects have been placed in a temporary detention facility, and efforts to identify similar channels are ongoing.

The first launch of the Soyuz-5 rocket from the Baiterek complex at the beginning of 2026 never took place. Meanwhile, tours to the "historic launch" were actively advertised on Instagram, with the deadline for applications closing on 21 March.

In the town of Esik, Enbekshikazakh district, a mass brawl involving seven people took place. The police officers who arrived fired warning shots into the air, after which the participants were detained, and two criminal cases were opened for hooliganism and resisting police officers.