The Court No. 2 of Atyrau City, Kazakhstan convicted two activists of disseminating false information, inciting social discord, and violating laws regulating public assembly. The Court relied on expert and witness testimony to conclude that the activists misinformed the masses to agitate them against government officials and people of Chinese ethnicity. The Court held that these activities were in violation of national laws and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In doing so, the Court dismissed the activists’ defense that they simply disseminated already public information. Both activists were sentenced to five years in prison, fined $1,500, and banned from civic activities for three years after their release.