Kazakhstan

(RSF/IFEX) – On 9 March 2004, Russian police arrested and questioned Irina Petrushova, editor-in-chief of the Kazakh opposition weekly “Assandi Times” (formerly “Respublika”), in St. Petersburg, on the basis of an arrest warrant issued by the Kazakh authorities. Petrushova was detained for several hours and subsequently released. “Petrushova has been harassed for several years in […]

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is a 16 February 2004 ARTICLE 19 press release: ARTICLE 19 CRITIQUES LATEST KAZAKH MEDIA LAW DRAFT ARTICLE 19 today released an analysis of the latest draft of the Kazakh Mass Media Law (1), updating our analysis of September 2003 (2). Despite claims to the contrary by the Kazakh authorities, […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned the dismissal of Kazakhstan’s most famous sports journalist by Tourism and Sports Minister Daulet Turlykhanov as a “frontal attack on press freedom” and has called for his immediate reinstatement. On 12 February 2004, Nesip Zhunusbayev was dismissed from his position as editor-in-chief of the weekly “Sport & KS” over an […]

(IFJ/IFEX) – The following is a 6 February 2004 IFJ press release: IFJ Condemns Intimidation of Kazak Journalists and Obscure Media Law The International Federation of Journalists today condemned a “growing pattern” of intimidation and harassment of the media in Kazakhstan and called for a revision of the draft media law. On 30 January, Svetlana […]

(IPI/IFEX) – The following is an IPI letter to President Nursultan Nazarbayev: H. E. Nursultan Nazarbayev President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Office of the President 11 Mira Street Astana 473000 Kazakhstan Fax: +7 3172 323 073 Vienna, 4 February 2004 Your Excellency, The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives […]

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is an ARTICLE 19 press release: ARTICLE 19 CONDEMNS RAID ON KAZAKH PUBLISHER ARTICLE 19 condemns the 27 January 2004 police raid on the offices of Kazakh publishing house Arsenal. The raid appears to be part of a pattern of harassment of Arsenal and its owners and managers, designed to […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 29 January 2004 letter to Senate Chairman Oralbai Abdykarimov, CPJ expressed concern about deteriorating press freedom conditions in Kazakhstan and government efforts to strengthen legal restrictions over the independent media ahead of parliamentary elections due later this year. In light of his position as chairman of the Senate, CPJ called Abdykarimov’s […]

(RSF/IFEX) – Journalist and human rights activist Sergei Duvanov was released on probation on 15 January 2004. He had been imprisoned since October 2002. Duvanov was released following a 29 December 2003 court ruling allowing him to return to his home in Almaty and resume his job at the International Bureau of Human Rights. RSF […]

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is a 15 December 2003 ARTICLE 19 open letter to President Nursultan Nazarbayev: 15 December 2003 Nursultan Nazarbayev President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Office of the President 11 Mira Street Astana 473000 Kazakhstan By Fax and Mail: +7 3172 323 073 Subject: Open letter re. Kazakhstan’s Law “Concerning Mass […]

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is a 16 September 2003 ARTICLE 19 press release: ARTICLE 19 Briefing of Kazakhstan’s draft Law “Concerning Mass Media” ARTICLE 19 today published an analysis of the Republic of Kazakhstan’s draft Law “Concerning Mass Media”. ARTICLE 19 has serious concerns with the draft Law. A number of its provisions impose […]

(IPI/IFEX) – The following is a 14 July 2003 IPI press release: Vienna, 14 July 2003 IPI Calls for Significant Changes in Draft Kazakhstan Media Law The International Press Institute (IPI) releases report on Kazakhstan draft Law “Concerning Mass Media” highlighting a number of significant failings with regard to international standards on press freedom. In […]

(RSF/IFEX) – On 3 June 2003, RSF voiced its concern about judicial harassment of the opposition newspaper “SolDat” and its editor-in-chief Ermurat Bapi after the newspaper was ordered to pay more than 300,000 euros (approx. US$350,000) for alleged tax evasion in a judicial decision of questionable legality. “‘SolDat’ is known for its allegations of corruption […]

(RSF/IFEX) – On 19 April 2003, RSF protested the attack on newspaper editor Maxim Yeroshin, which came a few days after he denounced corruption by President Nursultan Nazarbayev and his aides. Yeroshin, the founder and editor of the opposition newspaper “Rabat”, was attacked and beaten up by thugs near his home in the southern town […]

(RSF/IFEX) – On 15 April 2003, RSF condemned the Kazakh authorities for blocking access to several websites that are run by the opposition or provide independent news. Several of the targeted websites regularly carry critical articles about President Nursultan Nazarbayev and government officials involved in corruption. “The near-monopoly of the state-owned Kazakhtelecom as an Internet […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 28 March 2003 CPJ press release: KAZAKHSTAN: Court convicts suspects in firebombing of opposition weekly New York, March 28, 2003-The Medeu district court in the southern Kazakh city of Almaty convicted two men this week of setting fire to an opposition newspaper’s offices last May. The court sentenced Meirbek […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a CPJ press release: KAZAKHSTAN: Court upholds journalist’s prison sentence New York, March 11, 2003-The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is disappointed that today’s decision by Kazakhstan’s Almaty Regional Court in the city of Taldykorgan, north of Almaty, upheld the prison sentence of prominent independent journalist Sergei Duvanov. On January […]