Office of frequently harassed opposition newspaper fired upon, pelted with stones
(Adil Soz/IFEX) – The editorial office of the “Taszhargan” newspaper was fired upon and pelted with stones on the night of 31 March 2008. When its employees showed up for work the next morning, they found the windows shattered by two gunshots and stones, and a bullet embedded in a wall. “Taszhargan” chief editor Bakytgul […]
World Report 2008: Kazakhstan
World Report 2008: Kazakhstan
Attacks on the Press in 2007: Kazakhstan
Attacks on the Press in 2007: Kazakhstan
Freedom of the Press 2007: Kazakhstan
Freedom of the Press 2007: Kazakhstan
ARTICLE 19 calls on authorities to lift ongoing suspension of website
(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is a 29 January 2008 ARTICLE 19 press release: Kazakhstan: Censorship of Independent Websites ARTICLE 19 is deeply concerned about the selective application of Internet regulations and the suspension of major independent websites in Kazakhstan. On 18 October 2007 the authorities in Kazakhstan blocked four independent websites which published links […]
Several opposition newspapers harassed by authorities
(Adil Soz/IFEX) – The International Foundation for Protection of Freedom of Speech “Adil Soz” expresses its deep concern over the recent mass repression against independent media in Kazakhstan. Websites http://www.zonakz.net, http://www.geo.kz, http://www.kompromat.kz and internet radio station http://www.inkar.info remain blocked since 23 October 2007. The website http://www.kub.kz was removed from the Kazakh segment of the internet […]
Government blocks critical websites
(Freedom House/IFEX) – The following is a 25 October 2007 Freedom House press release: Freedom House Condemns Kazakh Government’s Blocking of Websites; Censorship in Direct Contradiction to OSCE Chairmanship Bid Kazakhstan’s blocking of four opposition websites is part of a broader pattern of press repression in that country and serves as another example of the […]
Adil Soz, other NGOs issue joint statement on shortcomings of proposed media law reforms
(Adil Soz/IFEX) – The following is joint statement by Adil Soz and eight other freedom of expression organisations to members of the Kazakh Parliament, in response to media law amendments proposed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Culture and Information: Dear Members of Parliament, Freedom of expression NGOs in Kazakhstan express […]
OSCE presidency opposed after heavily biased election coverage
(RSF/IFEX) – Media coverage of the 18 August 2007 legislative elections, swept by the ruling Nur Otan party, was “biased and heavily influenced by the authorities,” Reporters Without Borders said, adding that it would therefore oppose Kazakhstan’s bid to hold the rotating presidency of the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2009. […]
Press freedom violations mar bid to hold democratic elections
(RSF/IFEX) – Kazakhstan is supposed to stage model legislative elections on 18 August 2007 as it aspires to hold the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) rotating presidency in 2009 with the support of most European countries. But no election held in this central Asian republic since independence in 1991 has been considered […]
IPI condemns ongoing government campaign against newspaper
(IPI/IFEX) – The following is an IPI press release: IPI Condemns Takeover of Kazakh newspaper Karavan Vienna, 13 August 2007 – According to information provided to the International Press Institute (IPI), the weekly newspaper Karavan received a letter, dated 6 August, from the printing house Asia Press, which said it would no longer produce the […]
Journalist faces libel lawsuit for reports critical of prosecutor
(Adil Soz/IFEX) – Senior prosecutor Baurzhan Ospanov plans to sue journalist Zhasaral Kuanyshalin for his critical reports in the newspapers “Zhas Alash”, “Taszhargan” and “Respublika”. The journalist had reported that the prosecutor was drunk and had misbehaved during court proceedings. Following the publication of the articles, Ospanov was pulled from the proceedings for which he […]
Nouveau décès d’un journaliste indépendant dans un accident de voiture: ce n’est pas la première fois et la piste professionnelle ne doit pas être exclue
(RSF/IFEX) – Le 2 août 2007, le journaliste Saken Tauzhanov, âgé de 37 ans, qui travaillait pour les sites d’informations indépendants zonakz.net, dialog.kz et kub.kz est décédé, suite à un accident de voiture. Reporters sans frontières en appelle aux autorités kazakhes afin de faire toute la lumière sur ce drame aux circonstances encore obscures et […]
Another journalist killed in road accident – seventh since 2002
(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders has urged the Kazakh authorities not to come to any hasty conclusions about Saken Tauzhanov’s death on 2 August 2007 and to do everything possible to clarify the circumstances. The authorities said the 37-year-old journalist, who wrote for three independent news websites, zonakz.net, dialog.kz and kub.kz, was run over by […]
Two convicted, but many questions still unresolved in French journalist’s 2006 murder
(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders says it is pleased that two burglars have been convicted of the murder of French journalist Grégoire de Bourgues on 2 August 2006 in Kazakhstan but it condemns the Kazakh judicial system’s failure to clarify the still unresolved aspects of the case. One of the burglars was sentenced to 16 […]
Journalist faces libel charges over article about beating of drug convict
(Adil Soz/IFEX) – Olga Ushakova, a journalist with “Ustinka Plus” newspaper in Ust-Kamenogorsk, eastern Kazakhstan, is facing libel charges under the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan over a 15 September 2006 article. The charges stem from a complaint filed by Eugeniyi Nazarenko, convicted on 31 August 2006 to three years in prison for […]