News

Amangeldy Batyrbekov, editor-in-chief of Saryagash-Inform, who had previously been sentenced to 20 days of administrative detention on a defamation charge, has been remanded in custody for two months. Blogger and civic activist Tortuyl Shokan reported this on social media.

The Bostandyk District Court of Almaty has resumed consideration of a lawsuit filed by construction company Etude-Ybyrai LLP against journalist Vadim Boreiko over the protection of its business reputation and recovery of damages.

Madina Zhatkanbayeva, editor-in-chief of the 4vlastinfo news portal, says she has faced pressure following the publication of an investigative report on the use of public funds in the Turkestan Region. According to her, two lawsuits have been filed against her, while police have drawn up an administrative offence report whose legality she is challenging.

Forty journalists accredited with Kazakhstan’s Quryltai have submitted a collective appeal to Speaker Aibek Dadebay, calling for the rules governing briefings to be revised. They oppose the ban on asking questions unrelated to the announced topic of an event, according to Otkir Kurek.

As part of the Digital Action Lab, the Adil Soz Foundation has begun developing a chatbot for regional journalists. Its purpose is to help members of the media community quickly find the information they need and receive practical guidance in emergency situations involving violations of their rights.

On 13 October, Nazira Darimbet, President of the International Foundation for Protection of Freedom of Speech “Adil Soz”, spoke at the OSCE conference in Warsaw about the criminal prosecution of journalists in Kazakhstan.