(Adil Soz/IFEX) – The International Foundation for Protection of Freedom of Speech, Adil Soz, has documented 39 cases of violations of journalists’ rights surrounding the 19 September 2004 elections for the Majilis (lower chamber of Parliament). The vast majority of cases (26 out of 39) involved camera crews that were denied information about the elections […]
(Adil Soz/IFEX) – The International Foundation for Protection of Freedom of Speech, Adil Soz, has documented 39 cases of violations of journalists’ rights surrounding the 19 September 2004 elections for the Majilis (lower chamber of Parliament).
The vast majority of cases (26 out of 39) involved camera crews that were denied information about the elections and prohibited from covering polling and vote-counting, often by force.
In Atyrau, western Kazakhstan, members of the local electoral commission and an agent for the candidate Mahashev attacked Tamara Suhomolina, a reporter for “Ak Zhaiyk” newspaper, and twisted her hands behind her back. The commission chairman struck Suhomolina as he was entering a vote-counting site. Gulzhanat Isabayeva, a reporter for the same newspaper, witnessed members of the Dosor district electoral commission refusing to give copies of election results to journalists. As she was an “unwelcome witness”, she was violently pushed outside. She lost consciousness and was taken to a village hospital by ambulance.
Galina Vybornova, a staff reporter for the republican newspaper “Vremya”, went to a polling station in Taraz, southern Kazakhstan, on the eve of the elections in order to gather information about the preparations. Members of the local commission pushed her out of the room violently, however, and she nearly fell down.
Police officers forced the Channel 5 station camera crew who were covering the polling process to leave a voting station in Karaganda, central Kazakhstan.
On the morning of 16 September, unknown individuals in minivans drove through the city of Uralsk, northern Kazakhstan, and bought all copies of “Uralskaya nedelya” newspaper. That day’s edition of the newspaper was carrying political advertisements for the Communists, the Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan opposition party, and independent candidates. Large sections of the newspaper were devoted to analysis and critiques of the electoral campaign, the usage of inappropriate campaigning techniques and the abuse of administrative resources by pro-governmental candidates.
