A court in Almaty has jailed a man for 15 days after he spoke out against an 8-tonne axle load limit for trucks and called on heavy goods vehicle drivers to stop work in the city on 1 November. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
In a video address, the man called the restriction unacceptable and urged truck drivers to halt operations in the city on 1 November. He recorded the video against a backdrop of construction scaffolding and said Almaty is constantly being built: roads are being asphalted and monolithic apartment blocks are being erected. According to him, materials for this need to be transported by heavy vehicles, which means the load restrictions should be lifted.
“All the infrastructure is being built at the expense of these heavy trucks, at our expense,” he said.
The author also called on truck drivers to stop work in the city from 1 November. He wanted their demands to be heard by the president. According to him, around 100 people were planned to be gathered for the protest, but 35 turned up.
“A video address by a man calling on heavy goods vehicle drivers to hold a mass protest action has been identified on social media,” the police statement said.
On 31 October, the man was taken to the police department of the Turksib district.
The specialised inter-district court for administrative offences in Almaty sentenced the man to 15 days of arrest. The police did not name the article of the Code of Administrative Offences under which he was punished.
In 2025, deputies of the Almaty maslikhat proposed tightening control over overweight vehicles on the city’s roads. At the time, the deputies noted that the city’s asphalt is designed for a load of up to 8 tonnes.