Kazakh farmer jailed for 15 days after urging discussion of rising diesel prices

According to the court, the farmer failed to notify the local administration in advance. Baimagambetov denied wrongdoing and asked for the case to be dismissed. He said he had wanted to draw journalists' attention to farmers' problems, had not planned to hold a rally and had later asked fellow farmers in the same chat not to gather. The defense intends to appeal the ruling.

In an appeal to government agencies and political parties, Baimagambetov wrote that diesel prices had risen by several tenge per liter each month from August through November. He also said that supplies of cheap grain from a neighboring country were making it difficult for local farms to sell their harvest at an acceptable price, forcing them to sell to middlemen and leaving them short of funds to prepare for the next season.

In its response to the appeal, the regional agriculture department said the regional operator was not inflating prices: the cost of subsidized diesel for farmers tracks the selling price charged by the Atyrau oil refinery. In September, the refinery sold fuel for autumn fieldwork at 307,400 tenge per metric ton, rising to 314,500 tenge in October and 319,300 tenge in November. Thus, from September to November, the price per metric ton increased by 11,900 tenge, or 3.9%.