Violations of freedom of speech in Kazakhstan August 2023

8 september 2023

The International Foundation for Freedom of Speech Protection «Adil Soz» presents an overview of events reflecting the situation in Kazakhstan with freedom of expression, receipt, and dissemination of information in August 2023.

Among the numerous events that took place in August in the field of freedom of speech, the accusation of journalist Sandugash Duissenova in the dissemination of information about private life deserves special attention.

Over the previous 10 years, from 2013 to July 2023, the monitoring of the «Adil Soz» Foundation recorded 14 cases against journalists under the article «Violation of integrity of private life and the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan on personal data and their protection» (Article 147 of the Penal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan).

In connection with pre-trial investigations, journalists were summoned for questioning, and searches were conducted in their homes as part of investigative measures.
However, Sandugash Duissenova's case stands out in particular: a personal search was conducted on the journalist as part of the investigation into the violation of the inviolability of private life. This is the only case recorded by the «Adil Soz» Foundation in the past 10 years.
Human rights activists have called the actions of the police in violation of Article 17 of the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Representatives of the internal affairs stated that the procedure for the personal search was conducted in strict accordance with the requirements of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Also in August:

Correspondent of the international news agency KazTAG Diana Saparkyzy was attacked while filming an incident at the Kazakhstanskaya mine of the ArcelorMittal Temirtau company.

«I was attacked by a large man who took away my phone and managed to delete some files» said Diana Saparkyzy. The journalist was able to capture the attacker on video, who did not even attempt to conceal his face.

The journalist managed to recover a deleted video. Upon careful examination, it is evident that at the moment when Diana's phone was taken away, another person was holding her from behind. However, the face of this person did not appear in the frame.

On the same day, Diana filed a complaint with the Police Department of the Karaganda Region to initiate a criminal case under Article 158, Part 2 of the Criminal Code (Interfering with the legitimate professional activity of a journalist through the use of violence). On August 19th, Diana underwent a forensic examination.

The journalist demands that those responsible be held accountable under the article related to obstructing the lawful professional activities of a journalist. As of August 31st, the police had not initiated the case.

Arkady Klebanov (Manevich), named as the organizer and initiator of attacks on journalists, can evade responsibility. This conclusion was reached by one of the injured journalists, Vadim Boreyko, after he was acquainted with the conclusions of experts who conducted an outpatient forensic drug and psychiatric examination.

A series of attacks against independent journalists occurred from September 2022 to February of this year. Threats, assaults, and DDoS attacks targeted the editorial offices of «Orda», «ElMedia», «Ulysmedia», as well as the chief editors of these publications, Gulnar Bazhkenova, Gulzhan Yergalieva, Samal Ibraeva, journalists Vadim Boreyko and Dinara Egeubaeva, and the operator of the «Hyperborey» project, Roman Egorov.

On August 9, Vadim Boreyko and his lawyers were invited to the Almaty Police Department to sign protocols stating that he was familiar with the decisions of the examinations and the conclusions of the experts themselves. There he learned that the examinations had been scheduled a long time ago and had already been carried out.

According to the experts' conclusions, Klebanov could not realize «the actual nature and social danger of his actions and control them» currently cannot appear before the investigation and the court, and compulsory treatment in a psychiatric hospital of a general type is recommended to him.

The journalist cities conclusion fourth statement from the conclusion of an additional inpatient examination: «Klebanov suffers from a chronic mental disorder, but he does not pose an increased danger to himself and others in his mental state».

The pre-trial investigation into the case of journalists Vladimir and Nargiz Severny has been concluded.

The journalists were detained in Almaty on suspicion of extortion. On April 22, by the decision of the Almaty Investigative Court, Nargiz Severny was placed under house arrest until June 20, 2023, and Vladimir Severny was placed in pre-trial detention until June 20, 2023. Later, the detention period for the journalists was extended until August 20, 2023.

Vladimir and Nargiz do not admit guilt in the charges brought against them, and their lawyers assert that there is no evidence of a criminal offense in the actions of the Severny family.

According to the lawyers, the pre-trial investigation was concluded on August 11, and the qualification of the charges remains the same. Now the defenders are getting acquainted with the materials of the criminal case and soon the investigative department of the Almaty Police Department will send the case materials to the prosecutor's office of the city.

The pre-trial investigation into the accusation of «Dorozhny Kontrol» correspondent Olesya Vertinskaya of contempt of court has been terminated.

The case was initiated at the request of Judge Z. Mukasheva under Article 410, Part 1 of the Penal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan - Contempt of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the court by insulting the parties in the constitutional proceedings, other persons involved in the consideration of the appeal, their representatives, participants in the proceedings. The reason for this case was a video from a court hearing published on the YouTube channel «DGK.Region.06».

Correspondents of the network media reported that the video was not made by them, and they do not know who posted it on the YouTube channel.

During the investigation, it turned out that the court session was held in an online format. Proceeding from this, on August 14, the investigator of the Criminal Investigation Department of Atyrau, K. Saleshev stopped the proceedings in connection with the absence of a criminal offense in the actions of journalists. The supervising prosecutor, to whom the materials were sent for consideration, agreed with the investigator's decision.

A coalition of human rights organizations has launched a campaign calling on the authorities of Kazakhstan to eliminate the possibility of blocking and slowing down the internet in the country from the legislation.

The coalition reminds that from January 4 to January 10, 2022, access to the internet and messaging apps was restricted in the country due to armed unrest.

The authors of the petition note that while shutdowns may be justified by the need for security, there is no reliable evidence of their effectiveness in this context. On the contrary, such blocks hinder citizens' access to vital data and information, «create chaos and cause economic damage to all citizens, businesses, and therefore, the budget».

According to the data published by the Coalition, during the January 2022 events, 16 million people were without internet access for 7 days, and the damage to the economy and the budget amounted to 429 million dollars.

In August 2023, a total of 31 reports of incidents related to the professional activities of the media and journalists, the receipt and dissemination of information were registered (excluding reports related to ongoing cases):

8 reports were related to violations of journalists' rights.
16 reports concerned the right to access and disseminate information.
7 cases of presentation of judicial and pre-trial claims to journalists and editorial offices in connection with publications.

In August 2023, in connection with the exercise of the right to freedom of expression, the following have been filed:

1 criminal charge (including judicial – 0).
3 pre-judicial claim and 1 civil lawsuit (including 3 related to protection of honor, dignity, and business reputation).
2 administrative charges.

Since the beginning of the year, in connection with the exercise of the right to freedom of expression, the following have been filed:

6 criminal charges (including 2 in court).
39 civil claims and lawsuits (including 31 for the protection of honor, dignity, and business reputation).

The claimed amounts of compensation for moral damage in cases of honor and dignity protection amount to 12 million tenge. The courts recovered 300 thousand tenge.

15 administrative charges, including 7 for defamation.

The monitoring was prepared according to reports to correspondents of the «Adil Soz» Foundation and information from open sources.

Head of the Monitoring Service of the «Adil Soz» Foundation - Elena Tsoy

Email: lena@adilsoz.kz

For all monitoring-related inquiries, you can also contact: info@adilsoz.kz