Violations of freedom of speech in Kazakhstan November 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 November 2024.

In November 2024, the following were recorded:

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

• An attack on a journalist while on duty

On November 20, Talgat Umarov, editor of the independent outlet Umarovnews.kz, was attacked in a courtroom following the announcement of a court ruling. The assailant, the father of one of the convicted individuals, struck Umarov between the jaw and throat. According to Umarov, there was nothing that could have provoked the incident. Some time later, Zhankabyl Satpayev called Umarov to apologize, explaining that he had been upset at the moment and lost control. The police initiated a case under Article 109 of the Penal Code of Kazakhstan – Battery.

• 3 cases of interference in media activities,
• 2 threats to media outlets, journalists, and bloggers,

            and other incidents.

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

• 7 cases of refusals or restrictions on the provision of socially significant information,
• 2 cases of violations of media equality,
• 2 reports of DDoS attacks and digital bullying,

and other incidents.

      10 reports of pre-trial and judicial claims and lawsuits filed against journalists, media outlets, and citizens (data on ongoing cases are not included), among them:

• 7 civil pre-trial and judicial claims against media outlets,
• 3 administrative pre-trial and judicial proceedings, including 2 court cases under the article on the publication and dissemination of false information (Article 456-2 of the Code of Administrative Offences of Kazakhstan).

Key Events in November 2024

Strengthening the Fight Against Cybercrime

On 4 November, as part of the President’s directive to enhance efforts against cybercrime, the Ministry of Internal Affairs established a new specialised department for combating cybercrime. The department is headed by Police Colonel Zhandos Suyinbai.
The Cybercrime Counteraction Department will focus on detecting and investigating cybercrimes while also developing strategies for their prevention.

TikTok regulation issues in Kazakhstan

In early October 2024, Gennady Shipovskikh, a member of the Senate of the Kazakhstan Parliament, submitted a request to the Prime Minister, proposing stricter content moderation on social media, particularly on TikTok. He argued that certain posts on TikTok could negatively impact children by promoting false ideals and fostering addiction.
The senator’s proposals for the platform included:

• Developing a clear algorithm for identifying and restricting extremist, radical, and separatist content;
• Creating a children’s version of TikTok, similar to YouTube Kids, to protect minors from potentially harmful content;
• Introducing a mechanism to block access to TikTok for children under 13 using Face ID technology on a parent’s device.

In case of ignoring these requirements, Shipovskikh considers it necessary to block TikTok in Kazakhstan.

In response to the parliamentary inquiry, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov stated that the relevant authorities maintain ongoing communication with TikTok’s official representation in Central Asia. According to TikTok, the platform actively combats underage access, having removed 1,239,635 accounts of users under 13 in Kazakhstan from January to August 2024, and 1,842,467 accounts throughout 2023.

However, the creation of a special children’s version of TikTok, akin to YouTube Kids, is not currently under consideration, as the platform’s official policy states that it is not intended for users under 13. Instead, TikTok offers parental control tools to restrict children's access to inappropriate content.

Olzhas Bektenov noted that the government of Kazakhstan aims to minimise the negative impact of social media (particularly TikTok) on children's worldview, moral, and spiritual values. Overall, online platforms comply with the requirements of the laws “On online platforms and online advertising” and the law “On protecting children from information harmful to their health and development.”

“Red Lines” in Public Discourse

On 18 November 2024, State Counselor of Kazakhstan Erlan Karin, in an interview with the state television channel “Kazakhstan”, once again touched upon the topic of “red lines” in public discussions, explaining that this is not an attempt to limit freedom of speech, but a call for restraint and a reasonable approach.

Karin specified that these “red lines” relate to sensitive issues that may create social tensions, such as language, religion, interethnic relations, and foreign policy.

He stressed that discussing these topics requires balance and respect to avoid excessive emotions and conflicts.

“Red lines are not a restriction, but a call. I said in that article [“Kazakhstanskaya Pravda”, 05.06.2024] that this is not censorship or a ban on these topics, it is the need to conduct discussions on these topics with restraint, without emotion, because we know that many states have fallen into crises because of conflicts on such topics. We ourselves wanted a broad pluralism of opinion, democracy. But if everyone gets emotional, politicises, splits society and pits citizens against each other, damage can be done. There must be order in any situation,” Erlan Karin said, adding that in his opinion “the principles of freedom are established in the country, but there must be order”.

Lawsuit Filed by Journalists Against the Ministry of Culture and Information and the Ministry of Justice of Kazakhstan

In November, court hearings continued on the collective lawsuit filed by nine journalists against the Ministry of Culture and Information (MCI) and the Ministry of Justice of Kazakhstan. The journalists are challenging certain provisions of an order issued by the MCI, which approved the Model Rules for Journalists' Accreditation, arguing that these provisions are restrictive and unconstitutional.

The main objections concern subparagraph 1) of paragraph 11 of the Model Rules for Accreditation. According to the plaintiffs, this provision prohibits accredited journalists from disseminating information obtained through any media outlet other than the one for which they are accredited. This interpretation arises from the wording of the term “ONLY”, in line with Article 6 of the Civil Code, which states that legal norms must be interpreted according to the literal meaning of their wording.

During the hearings, the ministry argued that this restriction applies only to official media, and that accredited journalists are still permitted to publish information on unregistered online resources and social media.

The journalists are also challenging the provision regarding the effective date of the Rules, which came into force six days before the official publication of the order.

On 11 November, the Interdistrict Civil Court of Astana dismissed the lawsuit against the MCI and the Ministry of Justice in its entirety.

Judge Rasul Karagaev explained that the claim was denied on two separate legal grounds:

• Effective date of the order. The court found that the order issued by the Ministry of Culture and Information (MCI) was enacted in accordance with the law “On Legal Acts,” which stipulates that ministerial orders take effect 10 days after publication, unless otherwise specified. The MCI order explicitly set 20 August 2024 as its effective date. The court ruled that this date did not infringe upon the rights, freedoms, or legitimate interests of journalists and therefore could not serve as legal grounds for invalidating paragraph 4 of the MCI order titled “On the Approval of the Model Rules for the Accreditation of Journalists (Representatives of Mass Media).”
• Right to publish in different media outlets. The court clarified that the phrase “only in the media outlet” from which the accreditation request originated does not restrict journalists from disseminating information through other media. Rather, it establishes the requirement that separate accreditation must be obtained from each media outlet where the journalist intends to publish the obtained information.

Accusation Against "Radio Azattyk" for Disseminating False Information

On 20 November, the Specialised Interdistrict Court for Administrative Offences of Almaty found Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Kazakhstan guilty of spreading false information and imposed a fine of 184,600 tenge.

The case was initiated by Alisher Turabayev, a resident of Shymkent, who filed a complaint regarding an error in a Kazakh-language video published on the Radio Azattyk portal on 13 September 2024. The video reported on the trial of Daniyar Adilbekov, the author of the Telegram channel Dikaya Orda, stating that the prosecutor had requested eight years of imprisonment on 12 September, whereas the closing arguments had actually begun only on 16 October.

The lawyer representing Radio Azattyk argued that the mistake resulted from an inaccurate translation and requested the dismissal of the case. He also pointed out that the statute of limitations had expired, as more than two months had passed since the publication. The director of the Azattyk bureau in Almaty, Kasym Amanzhol, stated that the information was an error, not deliberate misinformation.

After hearing both sides and reviewing the case materials, the court ruled to hold the media outlet administratively liable.

Commentary of the "Adil Soz" Foundation

The case was reviewed under Part 2 of Article 456-2 of the Administrative Code of Kazakhstan, which concerns the dissemination of false information. However, the proceedings were initiated based on a private complaint from a citizen, rather than an official administrative violation protocol issued by an official of the relevant state body..

Indeed, Subparagraph 4) of Paragraph 1 of Article 807 of the Administrative Code allows individuals to file complaints in administrative cases. However, the law explicitly states that such complaints must be related to the restoration of the complainant’s violated rights.

Thus, a citizen has the right to file such a petition solely in his own, not public interests, and in doing so he is obliged to specify, and the court is obliged to establish during the consideration of the case, what right of the citizen was violated by the publication of the mass media and how this right will be restored when the court issues a ruling on the recovery of the corresponding fine from the mass media to the budget.

However, the above circumstances were not established in the court ruling, and therefore the citizen's application was accepted for consideration and satisfied by the court in violation of the provisions of  Subparagraph 4) of Paragraph 1 of Article 807 of the Administrative Code.

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