Committee to Protect Journalists - Kazakhstan

Kazakh authorities interrogate editor, raid newsroom

2012-02-02T21:52:11Z

New York, February 2, 2012--The Kazakh security service, or KNB, must immediately cease intimidating Oksana Makushina, deputy editor of Golos Respubliki, and return reporting equipment confiscated today from the independent weekly, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.

Independent editor imprisoned in Kazakhstan

2012-01-26T17:25:14Z

New York, January 26, 2012--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today's court ruling against Igor Vinyavsky, editor of the independent weekly Vzglyad, and calls for his immediate release.

Editor detained, newsrooms raided in Kazakhstan

2012-01-24T22:20:53Z

New York, January 24, 2012--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the detention by the Kazakh security service, or KNB, of Igor Vinyavsky, editor of the Almaty-based independent weekly Vzglyad, and calls for his immediate release. Vinyavsky was detained in an ongoing crackdown by the KNB on critical media and opposition activists, which also involved a raid on independent broadcaster Stan TV.

Kazakh authorities censor news on deadly clashes

2011-12-20T21:15:07Z

New York, December 20, 2011--Authorities in the Mangistau region of western Kazakhstan have attacked and detained independent journalists and blocked access to news outlets to suppress coverage of unrest there, news reports said. The Committee Protect today called on Kazakh authorities to allow the media unfettered access.

Kazakh reporter sentenced to 'restriction of freedom'

2011-11-07T17:15:28Z

New York, November 7, 2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the conviction and sentence on defamation charges of Valery Surganov, a reporter with the independent news website Guljan, and calls for his full acquittal on appeal.

Kazakhstan TV crew assaulted after covering labor strike

2011-10-26T20:25:32Z

New York, October 26, 2011--Authorities in the western Mangystau region of Kazakhstan must thoroughly investigate a brutal attack today against two journalists for the Internet-based opposition broadcaster Stan TV, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.

Kazakh prosecutor ignores threats against journalist

2011-05-17T21:45:37Z

New York, May 17, 2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists is appalled by the refusal of a regional prosecutor in Uralsk, western Kazakhstan, to investigate a threatening call against Alla Zlobina, a regional correspondent for the embattled independent weekly Golos Respubliki. Zlobina's daughter was also intimidated. CPJ calls upon regional authorities to thoroughly probe the incidents and bring those responsible to justice.

After attack, Kazakhstan publisher goes missing

2011-04-01T17:54:58Z

New York, April 1, 2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Kazakh authorities today to immediately investigate the whereabouts of Daniyar Moldashev, director of ADP Ltd, publisher of the independent Almaty newspaper Respublika.

Colleagues said Thursday that Moldashev had disappeared, days after being assaulted and shortly before the country's presidential election.

"We are gravely concerned about the health and well-being of Daniyar Moldashev and call on Kazakh authorities to positively determine his whereabouts and ensure his safety," CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova said.

Kazakh investigators cast Pavlyuk murder as robbery

2011-03-24T18:00:19Z

New York, March 24, 2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Kazakh authorities today to thoroughly investigate journalism as a motive in the murder of Kyrgyz journalist Gennady Pavlyuk. Pavlyuk, better known by his pen name, Ibragim Rustambek, died in the hospital on December 22, 2009, after having been thrown from an upper-story window of an apartment building in Kazakhstan's economic capital, Almaty, a week before.

Attacks on the Press 2010: Europe and Central Asia Analysis

2011-02-15T05:52:00Z

On the Runet, Old-School Repression Meets New

By Nina Ognianova and Danny O'Brien

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has often talked about the importance of a free press and free Internet, telling reporters before his election that the Web "guarantees the independence of mass media." He explicitly tied the two together in his first State of the Union address in November 2008, declaring that "freedom of speech should be backed up by technological innovation" and that no government official "can obstruct discussion on the Internet."

Attacks on the Press 2010: Kazakhstan

2011-02-15T05:28:00Z

Top Developments
• New laws restrict online news media, shield government officials from scrutiny.
• OSCE chairman Kazakhstan undermines organization with repression at home.

Key Statistic
44 Defamation complaints filed in first six months of 2010, many of them by government officials.

President Nursultan Nazarbayev's government failed to deliver the press freedom reforms it had promised in exchange for gaining 2010 chairmanship of the Vienna-based Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, or OSCE. Not only did the government renege on explicit pledges to decriminalize libel and bring press laws in line with international standards, it enacted a restrictive new measure governing Internet content and a sweeping privacy law that shielded government officials from public scrutiny.

OSCE must put Kazakh press freedom on summit agenda

2010-11-30T22:23:34Z

New York, November 30, 2010--Heads of state and high-ranking officials representing 55 participating states of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) must urge the current OSCE chair, Kazakhstan, to make good on its press freedom commitments when they meet in Astana for a regional summit this week, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. CPJ has repeatedly asked the OSCE to ensure that Kazakhstan's poor press freedom record is placed high on the December 1-2 summit's agenda.

OSCE summit should address Kazakhstan press record

2010-07-19T21:43:30Z

New York, July 19, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to place Kazakhstan’s poor press freedom record on the agenda for its summit planned for later this year. Kazakhstan, the OSCE chair, is scheduled to host the summit in its capital, Astana.

CPJ asks OSCE to put Kazakh press freedom on agenda

2010-07-14T21:17:20Z

Dear Members of the OSCE Ministerial Council: In advance of your July 16-17 meeting at the Ak-Bulak Resort in Kazakhstan, the Committee to Protect Journalists—an independent advocacy group that defends the rights of journalists worldwide—would like to draw your attention to the poor press freedom record of Kazakhstan, the current chair of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

Imprisoned Kazakh journalist goes on hunger strike

2010-07-08T20:14:29Z

New York, July 8, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about the well-being of Ramazan Yesergepov, the ailing imprisoned editor of the now-defunct independent newspaper Alma-Ata Info, who is on a hunger strike for the third consecutive day in a penal colony in the southern Kazakh city of Taraz.