Konstantin Syroezhkin. Photo from Orda.kz
President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has signed a decree pardoning sinologist Konstantin Syroezhkin, who was sentenced on charges of high treason. This was reported by Kazakhstani political scientist Andrey Chebotarev on his Telegram channel.
«Good news from this past summer! At the suggestion of the Presidential Pardon Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has pardoned the renowned China scholar, Doctor of Political Sciences, and Professor Konstantin Syroezhkin by decree. As a result, his criminal record has been expunged, and his rights have been restored. In short, Justice has prevailed! I wish our colleague and mentor good health and new scientific achievements!» the message states.
Konstantin Syroezhkin was arrested in February 2019. The public didn't learn about the arrest immediately — the sinologist was missed when he didn't appear at a relevant conference, and only after several months did Kazakhstan's National Security Committee (KNB) confirm that he was in custody on charges of high treason. Syroezhkin's case was classified, and the trial was held behind closed doors. The proceedings resulted in a ten-year sentence in a maximum-security correctional facility.
Since the beginning of his prison term, the scholar has published several articles in the online publication Zona.kz («Notes of an Engaged Citizen»). In these, Syroezhkin revealed that investigators considered materials prepared at the request of Chinese colleagues based on open sources as evidence of his «criminal activity». These materials contained no insider information and could not have harmed Kazakhstan's national interests.
Syroezhkin's colleagues organized a campaign in his support. Two hundred scholars, journalists, and human rights activists from around the world published an appeal to Kazakhstan's leadership requesting his release. The sinologist himself, during the five years spent in prison, wrote dozens of complaints against judges and prosecutors involved in his case, appealed to the Mazhilis (lower house of parliament), the Senate, the presidential administration, the human rights ombudsman, and the Constitutional Court, which was revived in the country on January 1, 2023. These efforts yielded no results — he either received formal replies or his requests were ignored.
In his «Notes of an Engaged Citizen,» Syroezhkin pointed to a possible connection between his persecution and the KNB leadership. After the January 2022 events, when the head of the National Security Committee, Karim Massimov, and his deputies lost their positions and received lengthy sentences, there was a chance that the sinologist's case would be reviewed.
Last December, Syroezhkin publicly appealed to Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, asking for a pardon, while emphasizing that a pardon implies an admission of guilt, but the petitioner «cannot confess to a crime he did not commit."
In April of this year, the professor was released on parole. The court then stated that Syroezhkin «proved his reformation through exemplary behavior, conscientious attitude to work, and participation in the life of the colony."
