Violations of Freedom of Speech in Kazakhstan March 2023
The International Foundation for Protection of Freedom of Speech "Adil Soz" conducted a study of the situation in Kazakhstan regarding the right to freedom of expression, as well as the receipt and dissemination of information in March 2023.
In March 2023, 55 incidents were documented, all related to the exercise of the right to freedom of speech and the dissemination or receipt of information. This figure is 1.2 times higher than the previous month (44 incidents were recorded in February) and approximately the same as the data from January (66 incidents).
The number of cases involving violations of journalists' and media rights in March dropped to 13 recorded instances (compared to 17 in February and 19 in January).
There was an an uptick in both judicial and pre-trial claims directed at journalists, bloggers, and citizens due to media publications in March. Whereas there were 7 such cases in February, 10 claims against the media and journalists were registered in March. Five of these cases related to the extraordinary elections for deputies of the Mazhilis of the Parliament and Maslikhats of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The number of incidents involving violations of the right to access and disseminate information in March totaled 34 cases (compared to 21 in February and 41 in January).
Noteworthy events from March that shaped the media landscape include:
On March 19, extraordinary elections for deputies of the Mazhilis of the Parliament and Maslikhats were held in Kazakhstan. The International Foundation for Protection of Freedom of Speech Adil Soz, which monitored journalists' rights and media coverage of the voting process, noted a decrease in the number of freedom of speech violations compared to the 2019 elections. Adil Soz acknowledges that the violations of journalists' rights recorded during the 2023 elections are isolated instances but still necessitate improved training for election commission members in terms of their interaction with journalists.
On March 4, the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced the arrest of the initiator and organizer behind a series of attacks on media outlets and journalists, including the editorial offices of Orda, ElMedia, Ulysmedia, and the editors-in-chief of these publications: Gulnar Bazhkenova, Gulzhan Yergaliyeva, Samal Ibrayeva, journalists Vadim Boreyko and Dinara Egeubayeva, as well as the operator of the "Hyperborea" project, Roman Egorov. The department stated that Arkady Klebanov (Manevich) had personal grievances against several media outlets and journalists and orchestrated the attacks "for personal reasons." The affected journalists are skeptical of the police's version and are demanding a polygraph test to verify his testimony.
On March 20, the guilty verdict against Sultan Sagandykov, head of the security service at the DostykMoll shopping center, became legally binding in the case of interfering with the professional activities of journalists from the Khabar 24 TV channel. Acting on his orders, on August 2, 2021, the TV team was forcibly removed from the Dostyk Mall shopping center.
On March 27, based on the verdict of the military court of the Almaty garrison, Mikhail Kozachkov, author of the Kozachkov Offside Telegram channel, received a 3.5-year suspended sentence. The journalist was found guilty of unlawfully collecting information about private lives and knowingly disseminating false information.
On March 28, the Public Council of the Ministry of Information and Social Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan discussed the draft law "On Mass Media." In general, the ministry reported that council members supported the bill, yet they also provided suggestions and comments to enhance specific amendments. The journalistic community believes that the ministry is attempting to pass the draft law, which has been met with significant criticism, through public councils.
The monitoring is prepared based on reports of the "Adil Soz" Foundation reporters and information from open sources.
Head of the "Adil Soz" Foundation Monitoring Department Elena Tsoy
e-mail: lena@adilsoz.kz
For all monitoring-related inquiries, you can also contact info@adilsoz.kz
