40 journalists call for changes to Quryltai briefing rules

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.

Under the current rules, a journalist may receive a warning for asking a question outside the stated agenda, and after two such violations may lose their accreditation for six months.

The authors of the appeal consider these restrictions unjustified. In their view, journalists should be able to ask ministers, members of parliament and other officials any questions that fall within their area of responsibility, regardless of the stated topic of the briefing.

The journalists are calling for off-topic questions to be removed from the list of violations that can result in loss of accreditation. They also propose introducing a transparent procedure for documenting violations and a mechanism for appealing warnings.

The appeal stresses that such restrictions contradict the very purpose of accreditation — to ensure broad and timely public access to information about the activities of government bodies. The signatories expect the Quryltai leadership to review the disputed provision and provide an official written response.

The International Foundation for Protection of Freedom of Speech “Adil Soz” notes that accreditation should ensure journalists’ access to information rather than become a tool for restricting their professional activities. The ability to ask public officials questions of public interest should not depend solely on the agenda announced in advance for a briefing.