KAZAKHSTAN: NEW YEAR, NEW ATTACKS ON FREE EXPRESSION ARTICLE 19
3 february 2012
KAZAKHSTAN: NEW YEAR, NEW ATTACKS ON FREE EXPRESSION
ARTICLE 19
ARTICLE 19 is concerned that the politically-motivated arrest of an editor-in-chief, the surveillance of internet users and the banning of journalists from certain activities do not bode well for freedom of expression in 2012 in Kazakhstan – a country where the right to freedom of expression is already severely restricted.
ARTICLE 19 considers the severity of the charges brought against Igor Vinyavskiy solely on the basis of his alleged involvement with the publication of an unverified leaflet, as excessive. Based on the current information available ARTICLE 19 believes that the charges against Igor Vinyavksiy are brought to persecute him for his legitimate professional activities as a journalist. Therefore, ARTICLE 19 calls for his immediate release from detention and for dropping all the charges against him.
ARTICLE 19 calls on the Kazakh authorities to refrain from using the context of the violence in December in Zhanaozen to silence its critics and to reverse the introduction of measures that curtail the free flow of information. As a state party to the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights the Republic of Kazakhstan has legally binding obligations to protect and promote the right to freedom of expression and access
to information.
ARTICLE 19
ARTICLE 19 is concerned that the politically-motivated arrest of an editor-in-chief, the surveillance of internet users and the banning of journalists from certain activities do not bode well for freedom of expression in 2012 in Kazakhstan – a country where the right to freedom of expression is already severely restricted.
ARTICLE 19 considers the severity of the charges brought against Igor Vinyavskiy solely on the basis of his alleged involvement with the publication of an unverified leaflet, as excessive. Based on the current information available ARTICLE 19 believes that the charges against Igor Vinyavksiy are brought to persecute him for his legitimate professional activities as a journalist. Therefore, ARTICLE 19 calls for his immediate release from detention and for dropping all the charges against him.
ARTICLE 19 calls on the Kazakh authorities to refrain from using the context of the violence in December in Zhanaozen to silence its critics and to reverse the introduction of measures that curtail the free flow of information. As a state party to the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights the Republic of Kazakhstan has legally binding obligations to protect and promote the right to freedom of expression and access
to information.
