CPJ: Eight-year sentence against Gulnara Bazhkenova is part of escalating pressure on the media

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has published a statement in response to the sentencing of former Orda editor-in-chief Gulnara Bazhkenova, who was sentenced to eight years in prison by a court on 18 August. The international organisation considers the case part of the mounting pressure on the media in Kazakhstan ahead of the parliamentary elections.

The Adil Soz Foundation is publishing excerpts from the CPJ statement.

“On 18 August, an Almaty court found Gulnara Bazhkenova guilty of knowingly disseminating false information, misappropriation or embezzlement, and illegal entrepreneurship. The journalist denies the charges and intends to appeal the verdict.

The prison sentence was deferred for two years because Bazhkenova has a minor child. In addition, the court banned her for five years from engaging in activities related to the media, journalism, blogging, public events and other forms of public activity, as well as from holding certain managerial positions.

‘The excessively harsh eight-year sentence handed down to Gulnara Bazhkenova is part of an alarming series of arrests and convictions that point to an effort by the authorities to silence the press ahead of Kazakhstan’s 23 August parliamentary elections,’ said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna.

He called on the Kazakhstani authorities to end the escalating pressure on the press and allow Bazhkenova and other journalists to carry out their professional work freely.

From the newsroom search to the verdict

In December 2025, armed police officers searched Orda’s newsroom and detained Bazhkenova in connection with several alleged instances of knowingly disseminating false information. Charges of misappropriation or embezzlement and illegal entrepreneurship, relating to the period when she worked at the outlet, were later added.

CPJ notes that the detention followed Orda publications linking Kazakhstan’s then foreign minister to large-scale corruption and the killing of an opposition blogger in 2024.

Kazakhstani journalists and human rights defenders suggested that Bazhkenova’s prosecution may have been connected to those publications. CPJ notes, however, that the articles themselves were not among the publications used as the basis for the false-information charges.

The newsroom search was also preceded by months of alleged pressure on Bazhkenova and Orda, including cyberattacks, hacking attempts, threats of violence and the circulation of false reports claiming that the journalist had died.

Bans on journalistic activity

CPJ notes that broad restrictions on professional and public activities have increasingly been imposed on convicted journalists in Kazakhstan.

According to the organisation, such bans may include appearing in the media, participating in public events and using social media. The practice has already been criticised by Kazakhstani human rights organisations.

Last week, CPJ and eight Kazakhstani and international press freedom and human rights organisations expressed deep concern about the intensifying pressure on the media ahead of the 23 August vote.

Other criminal cases and account blocks

CPJ places Bazhkenova’s case within a broader wave of pressure on journalists.

Since late July, political satirist Azamat Omarov has been arrested, journalists Asset Matayev, Amir Kassenov and Alexandra Alyokhova have been convicted, and criminal investigations have been opened against Lukpan Akhmedyarov and Dinara Yegeubayeva.

In addition, at least ten prominent journalists have reported having their social media accounts blocked or posts removed. CPJ links these incidents to a wave of copyright complaints and other content-related claims.

The Committee to Protect Journalists sent an inquiry to Kazakhstan’s Prosecutor General’s Office through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At the time of publication, the organisation had not received a response.”

Read the full statement on the CPJ website