Violations of freedom of speech in Kazakhstan December 2024

The International Foundation for Protection of Freedom of Speech “Adil Soz” presents an overview of events reflecting the situation in Kazakhstan with freedom of expression, receipt, and dissemination of information in December 2024.

The Foundation’s monitoring in December recorded:

    10 reports of violations of the rights of journalists, media outlets, and newsmakers, including:

• Detention of a blogger,
• 3 cases of threats against media and journalists,
• 2 cases of interference with legal professional activity of journalist,and other incidents.

14 reports related to the right to freely receive and disseminate information, including:

• 5 cases of refusals or restrictions on the provision of socially significant information,
• 5 reports of DDoS attacks and account hacking, and other incidents.

6 reports of pre-trial and judicial claims and lawsuits filed against journalists, media outlets, and and bloggers, including data on ongoing legal proceedings (cases from previous months are not included):

• 2 court proceedings over claims for compensation due to copyright infringement,
• 4 administrative court proceedings, including 2 cases under the article “Defamation” (Article 73-3 of the Administrative Offences Code of Kazakhstan)

Key Events in December 2024

Aviation Accident Near Aktau and Blogger’s Detention

On 25 December, an Embraer-190 passenger aircraft of Azerbaijan Airlines, en route from Baku to Grozny, crashed near Aktau.

Blogger Azamat Sarsenbayev from Aktau, who was filming the crash site with a drone, was detained by the police. The Mangystau Region Police Department stated that the reason for the detention was a violation of public order and failure to comply with police instructions.

Sarsenbayev explained that he launched his drone from approximately one kilometre away, as the crash site had already been cordoned off when he arrived. He also interviewed emergency service personnel on site and did not obstruct law enforcement officers. He provided these explanations to the police, after which he was informed that there were no further claims against him. However, three hours later, he posted that he was being taken from the police department to court.

On 25 December 2024, the Tupkaragan District Court of Mangystau Region ruled to place Sarsenbayev under administrative arrest for ten days. He was found guilty of disobeying a lawful order from a law enforcement officer prohibiting video recording at the crash site. According to the blogger, he was unaware of such a restriction.

Opening of the Euronews Office in Astana

On 19 December, the regional office of the international news channel Euronews was inaugurated in Kazakhstan. Pedro Vargas David, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Euronews, met with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and announced plans to launch the Euronews Academy project. The initiative aims to train Kazakhstani journalists in modern technologies and implement high professional standards.

Closure of the newspaper workshop of the largest printing house "Dauir"

On 13 December, publishers, editors, and journalists from more than twenty print media outlets appealed to members of the Mazhilis (Parliament of Kazakhstan), urging them to intervene in the closure of the newspaper printing division at the “Dauir” printing house.

In early December, publishers were notified that the printing house would cease printing periodicals in newspaper format as of 1 January 2025. The company’s management cited declining newspaper circulation and reduced production volumes as the reasons for reorganising the division.

“Not only the subscription campaign and plans for next year are under threat, but also the very existence of printed periodicals in Kazakhstan. Yes, the printing house “Dauir” is not the only one that prints newspapers, but it is the largest and oldest. “Dauir” is not just a printing house, but also a historical heritage of our country; this year it turned 92 years old. It was not only the printed organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan, but also, with the advent of Independence, the main source of the printed press in the country - both private and state,” believe the authors of the appeal.

Court Cases Under Article 73-3 of the Administrative Offences Code of Kazakhstan (Defamation)

In December, courts ruled on two administrative cases related to defamation. In both instances, a journalist and a blogger were acquitted of spreading knowingly false information.

• On 20 December, the Lisakovsk City Court in Kostanay Region dismissed the case against Maksim Sushko, editor-in-chief of “Business-Press-Lisakovsk,” who had been accused of defamation by Erlan Bektanov, akim of the village of Oktyabrsky. The case was initiated following Bektanov’s complaint to the police, in which he claimed that the 7 November 2024 article “Want to Sober Up? Come to Oktyabrsky” («Хочешь протрезветь – тебе в Октябрьский») contained false information about his opposition to the construction of a Temporary Adaptation and Detoxification Centre. The court found no defamatory content in the publication, ruling that the article contained evaluative opinions rather than false statements.
• On 27 December, a court in Kostanay acquitted Merabi Jvaridze, administrator of the “ilovekostanay” Instagram page, of defamation charges. The case was initiated by a member of the Kostanay Maslikhat, who filed a police complaint over a post titled “A Deputy from Kostanay Stated That She Would Insist on Raising Waste Collection Fees,” («Депутат из Костаная заявила, что будет настаивать на повышении цен на вывоз мусора») published on 26 November 2024. The deputy alleged that the post selectively used her statements, manipulated them, and distorted her intended message. Jvaridze argued that there was no defamation, as he had merely copied the deputy’s own post from her page, adding a headline and an asterisk to indicate that the statement was incomplete and had further context.

The monitoring was prepared according to reports to correspondents of the «Adil Soz» Foundation

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