A court in Kazakhstan’s western city of Atyrau has sentenced a local resident to three years in jail for fighting along pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Court spokesman Boranbai Ghaliev said that the 27-year-old man, whose identity was not revealed, was found guilty of "taking part in military conflicts abroad" on April 27 and sentenced the same day.

That is the second case when a Kazakh citizen was sentenced for participation in the Ukrainian conflict, where more than 6,100 people have been killed since April last year.

In December, a court in the Kazakh capital, Astana, sentenced another Kazakh citizen, Yevgeny Vdovenko, to five years in prison for fighting alongside pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Last month, Kazakh citizen Tatyana Shevtsova-Valova received a suspended four-year sentence for inciting ethnic hatred online and writing in the Internet that Kazakhstan must become part of Russia, like Crimea.

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March last year.

Based on reporting by Tengrinews.kz and Interfax