(Adil Soz/IFEX) – On 8 November 2006, Kazakh media advocacy organizations submitted a new draft media law to the Majilis (lower chamber of Parliament). The proposed media law is considered more liberal than the one currently in place. It is designed to promote the right to freely receive and distribute information, prohibit any attempt to […]
(Adil Soz/IFEX) – On 8 November 2006, Kazakh media advocacy organizations submitted a new draft media law to the Majilis (lower chamber of Parliament).
The proposed media law is considered more liberal than the one currently in place. It is designed to promote the right to freely receive and distribute information, prohibit any attempt to monopolize the media, and limit legal grounds for the suspension and closure of media outlets. Furthermore, it reduces the period for filing a lawsuit “for protection of the honor and dignity” against media outlets and sets a maximum amount that can be sought for damages in such lawsuits.
The most significant provision, though, is the one decriminalizing insult and defamation charges. This is the second attempt of non-governmental organizations to submit the bill to Parliament. They were rejected in their first attempt in June.
“The fact that the draft was accepted is a result of insistence from the journalistic community of the country and a group of deputies,” said Adil Soz President Tamara Kaleyeva. “But it is not a victory. It is the start of a new, maybe even more important phase in the fight for democratic legislation. The document which we have been working on so hard, will be amended by the deputies and state officials. As a consequence, it might end up being even more strict and repressive that the current one.”
Work on the draft law began at the end of 2004, jointly undertaken by the Congress of Kazakh Journalists, Adil Soz, the National Association of Television and Radio Broadcasters and the Center for Support of Mass Media.
