In the Kostanay region, a journalist has been found not guilty in a defamation case against the akim.

The reason for the legal proceedings was the article "Want to sober up? Head to Oktyabrsky," published by the editor Maxim Sushko in the Lisakovsk newspaper. The article addressed the topic of constructing a Temporary Adaptation and Detoxification Center in the village of Oktyabrsky, which was planned to be located near a school, as reported by tobolifo.kz.

The sticking point was the direct quote from the Akim of Oktyabrsky, Erlan Bektanov, which Sushko included in his article: “I was against it, but that was Abay Ibraev's decision.”

According to Sushko, he and Bektanov met on October 24 at the Akimat, engaged in conversation, and during this exchange, the journalist inquired about the construction of the sobering-up facility. It was at this moment that the quote was made.

However, Bektanov denies this and has filed a statement with the police to hold the journalist administratively accountable under the article "Defamation."

The court ruled to terminate the case due to the lack of a crime composition.

Sushko explained that the purpose of the publication was to draw attention to the construction of the Temporary Adaptation and Detoxification Center. The journalistic investigation was conducted following requests from local residents, whose opinions were not considered during the construction process. The court agrees with the expert Mustakimova's view that the information is of an evaluative nature. Even with the presence of evaluative judgments, the article does not contain information that defames the honor of Akim Erlan Bektanov, as stated in the explanation to the ruling.