Violations of freedom of speech in Kazakhstan December 2022
The International Foundation for the Protection of Freedom of Speech "Adil Soz" conducted a study of the situation with the right to freedom of expression, receipt and dissemination of information in Kazakhstan in December 2022.
In December 2022, 55 cases of violations of freedom of speech were recorded. It is 1.7 times more than in the same period of 2021 (31 facts).
This month, journalists faced violations of their rights 2.3 times more often (16 facts) than in December last year (7). The number of violations of right to receive and disseminate information increased in 2.4 times (34 facts in 2022, 14 in 2021).
Judicial/pre–trial prosecutions of the media, bloggers and citizens in connection with the exercise of the right to freedom of speech was the only violation that showed decrease - 5 recorded claims in December this year against 10 in 2021.
Adil soz reports:
- On December 18, Mikhail Kozachkov, newspaper "Vremya" reporter and the author of the Kozachkov offside Telegram channel, was detained in Almaty.
A very short time after the arrest, the Financial Monitoring Agency issued a press release stating that the journalist was suspected of aiding and abetting to illegal takeovers committed by the organized criminal groupof Kospayev in raider seizures and in the dissemination of deliberately false information.
Mikhail Kozachkov's house was searched. Neither the journalist's lawyer nor his wife's lawyer were allowed into the apartment while it was searched.
Human rights activists, colleagues of the journalist talk about repression because of his professional activities and claim violation of Mikhail Kozachkov's rights to full protection and the presumption of innocence.
- The Ministry of Defense proposes to introduce criminal liability for discrediting the army during a special period.
Alisher Suleimenov, Adviser to the Minister of Defense of Kazakhstan on Ideology, Information and Communication, told about that in an interview with Kazakhstan's Pravda. It is proposed to introduce administrative and criminal liability for the dissemination of false information and information that discredit the army in the eyes of the public, undermine public order and the defense capability of the republic during a special period, negatively affect "the moral and psychological state of personnel, performance of special and combat tasks that undermine the combat readiness of units".
- On December 7, telephone terrorists reported to the police station in Almaty about allegedly planted bombs in the apartment and car of the head of ElMedia Gulzhan Yergalieva and in the media studio. The task force that arrived at the scene did not find the bomb.
On December 9, a man with a funeral wreath came to the administrative building where the Elmedia office is located. He asked the guard how he could find Yergalieva, but the guard answered that he did not know such a person. After that the man called someone, then turned around and left, taking the wreath with him.
- Court hearings on the attack on Olesya Vertinskaya, "Road Control" reporter, began in Atyrau.
The attack took place on July 19 near Vertinskaya's house — an unknown man hit the journalist hard in the face, and then started kicking her. The victim had open displaced fracture of the nose. Law enforcement forces detained a resident of Atyrau named Mellatov. He was charged under the article of the Criminal Code - Hooliganism.
At the hearings on December 5, the defendant's lawyer asked to come to a procedural agreement, but Vertinskaya and her lawyer did not agree.
- In Petropavlovsk, the consideration of a criminal case on obstruction of the professional activities of journalists of the Khabar 24 TV channel continues.
On December 7, at the court hearing for interfering the legal professional activities of Khabar 24 journalists in Petropavlovsk, the defendant's lawyer doubted that a cameraman could be considered a journalist, and even membership in the Union of Journalists of Kazakhstan "does not give the right to be called a journalist."
He believes that article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan assumes intereffing with the activities of a journalist, and not a cameraman, or a director, etc. The victim Tolegen Imanov had to remind of the existence of TV journalism.
In addition, the lawyers of the defendant, Sultan Sagandykov, head of security at the shopping center, filed 4 motions: to invalidate several protocols in the case, to invalidate the proceedings starting from 04/21/2022, to issue a private ruling to the investigating authorities and return the case to the preliminary hearing. The judge rejected the last one, the other three remained open.
The following charges were filed in connection with the exercise of the right to freedom of expression in December 2022:
- 5 civil claims and lawsuits:
- 2 suits for protection of honor, dignity and business reputation.
- 1 suit for the right to own picture
- 2 claims on violation of the law On Mass media
The following charges were filed since the beginning of the year:
- 19 criminal charges (7 in court).
- 56 claims and suits in civil procedure
43 of them for protection of honor, dignity and business reputation.
Claims for compensation for non-pecuniary damage amounted to 28 million 20 thousand tenge. The courts collected 1 million 920 thousand tenge.
Total of 35 court rulings have been issued on claims for the protection of honor, dignity and business reputation. 24 of them were in favor of the defendants).
- 25 administrative charges (including 7 related to January riots; 11 slander charges)
The monitoring is based on the information of the Adil Soz Foundation's reporters and publicly available information
Head of monitoring service of Adil Soz Foundation
Elena Tsoi e-mail: lena@adilsoz.kz
For all monitoring questions, you can also contact info@adilsoz.kz
