This document aims to assist legislators and other stakeholders to ensure that any legislative proposals also comply with Kazakhstan’s international obligations in the area of freedom of expression. It focuses particularly on: a) licensing and registration requirements for the media, and; b) state aid to media.
This document explains how international human rights standards on freedom of expression address the rights of journalists to publish information and opinions about politicians and public officials. Kazakhstan currently has an array of laws which are highly restrictive of freedom of expression. The country has recently decriminalised defamation but it remains an administrative offence, and insult is still considered a criminal offence.