(GDF/IFEX) – GDF has received a letter from the editorial board of the independent newspaper “Nachnyem s Ponedelnika”, which states that on the eve of Press Day (27 June 1999), Kazakh judicial authorities closed down the newspaper and seized its bank accounts. According to the letter sent by “Nachnyem s Ponedelnika”, the newspaper was closed […]
(GDF/IFEX) – GDF has received a letter from the editorial board of the
independent newspaper “Nachnyem s Ponedelnika”, which states that on the eve
of Press Day (27 June 1999), Kazakh judicial authorities closed down the
newspaper and seized its bank accounts. According to the letter sent by
“Nachnyem s Ponedelnika”, the newspaper was closed “without cause, motive or
any reprimands by the prosecutor’s office on violation of the Law on Press.”
“Nachnyem s Ponedelnika”, published in Almaty (the former capital of
Kazakhstan), has been in existence for six years and has a large
circulation. In the six years of its existence, the newspaper has not been
financially dependent on the state or any other public organisation.
According to the letter received by GDF, “the newspaper’s chiefs and
journalists consider the closure of the publication a political action.” On
26 June, the day before the closure, “Nachnyem s Ponedelnika” published a
two-page appeal to the President and the Prosecutor General of the Republic
of Kazakhstan entitled “Kazakhstan must not turn into a gangster and
police-like state”, dealing with the struggle against corruption in the
country.
