(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has called for an investigation after journalist Askhat Sharipzhanov, of the online publication “Navigator” (http://www.navi.kz), died in an Almaty hospital five days after he was hit by a car. The organisation urged Interior Minister Zautbek Turisbekov to ensure that an open investigation is launched, “to clear up doubts about the journalist’s cause […]
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has called for an investigation after journalist Askhat Sharipzhanov, of the online publication “Navigator” (http://www.navi.kz), died in an Almaty hospital five days after he was hit by a car.
The organisation urged Interior Minister Zautbek Turisbekov to ensure that an open investigation is launched, “to clear up doubts about the journalist’s cause of death.”
Sharipzhanov died of a brain haemorrhage on 20 July 2004 after extensive surgery. Late on 16 July, a car knocked him down after he left “Navigator”‘s office. The driver of the vehicle went to the journalist’s aid.
That same afternoon, Sharipzhanov had interviewed Altynbek Sarsenbayev, the new information minister and a reformist, as well as Zamanbek Nurkadilov, a key opposition figure. “Navigator” editor-in-chief Yuri Mizinov said the transcripts of the interviews had disappeared from the journalist’s computer, as had Sharipzhanov’s tape recorder. “These details make us doubt the official version of the accident,” Mizinov said.
“The death of Askhat Sharipzhanov is a serious loss to Kazakhstan’s independent press, said RSF, calling on the authorities to keep the organisation informed of progress in the investigation.
“Navigator” is one of the most popular independent news websites in the country. In April 2003, customers of Kazakhtelecom, the main Internet provider, were prevented from getting access to the site (see IFEX alert of 15 April 2003).
