STATEMENT On the situation around the National Press Club and the international news agency KazTAG
Late in the afternoon on January 12, 2016 the authorities of the National Press Club and KazTAG Agency got a call from the audit division of the Almaty State Revenue Department. The taxmen informed the authorities of a financial due diligence they were entering upon at the same timeat the NationalPress ClubandKazTAG. When askedon whosecomplaint orstatementthey were to start that examination they reported thatthe initiator of theaudit was an anti-corruption agency of Almaty city.
On January 13, 2016 the National Press Club receiveda lawsuit initiated by the Almaty Department of the StateArchitectural and Construction Inspection, which claimed that thebuilding located at 122 Furmanov street hosting thePressClubandNews Agency and knownto manylocal and foreign journalists isearthquake-prone, which is why its 3d and 4th floors were due to demolition. It is noteworthy thatthe lawsuit has been filedon the basis of a statement a certain chairmanof a CAO "Saktar" Ms.Zh.Tutkishbayeva made on January 12, 2016 with a request tocheck the legality of the NationalPress Club buildup.
Our building was reconstructed in 2005 and in 2006 the DSACI (GASK) Commission and other public agencies issued an approval within the framework of the first stage of the property legalization campaign. In 2007 the Almaty Akimat issued a decree on the approval and commissioning the given reconstructed building. As of 2016 the building is in excellent condition. However GASK showed miracles of efficiency and disrespect for the law. It turns out that the Department of State Architectural and Construction Inspection found archived confidential documents of the city commission for legalization of 2007, a decision of which, according to the law, shall not be subject to revision and inspite of the Decree of the President of the country, GASK filed a lawsuit.
On January 14, 2016 the Medeu district courtof Almaty issued an order for seizureof financialdocuments of the NationalPress Club andKazTAG based on the claim ofthe anti-corruption agency of Almatycity supported by the prosecutor's office. The same day the orderwas issued for the seizure of the Club settlementand cash documents inthe servicing bank. He Almaty anti-corruption agencystarted accusing uscrimes, specifically of the budget fundsembezzlement when coveringthe state informationpolicy in the2011 – 2015.
We openly declare that we have neither violated the law nor embezzled the budget money. The National Press Club did not participate in tenders for informational coverage of the public policy in media, and no budget funds have been transferred to its settlement account via the Treasury Committee of the Ministry of Finance RK. Indeed, KazTAG has concluded agreements with the Committee for Communication, Informatization and Information and fully accounted for funds received and their targeted use. On January 18 we submitted all relevant documents (contracts, invoices, certificates of completion and acts of provided services) to anti-corruption agency of Almaty city.
Since January 20, 2016the formerfinancial police officers arrangedround the clockoutdoorsurveillanceforus; they escorted us even when going to and back from thekindergarten. Werecorded the image/faces of outdoorsurveillance agents on a video camera, we found outtheir names,their carsandlicense plates. We have alsofound out thatfinancial police tappedour phonesand hacked personal correspondence in computers. We foundhacking our mail from Ust-Kamenogorsk and Kostanai. This is what Googleservice security has informed us about.
On February 10, 2016 anti-corruption office in Almaty initiated a new criminal case, accusing the National Press Club and the JSC "Kazakhtelecom" in the embezzlement of public funds in 2011 - 2013. At the same time the Almaty anti-corruption agency now and again suggests, using soft persuasion and often using threats, that we should fully take the blame upon ourselves, compensate the damage and only on such terms we will be exempt from criminal liability. We declare that we embezzled no public funds, we did not give bribes or the so-called kickbacks.
As a result ofthese actionsthe entire activityof the Kazakhstan Unionof Journalists, the NationalPress Club andKazTAG is nowparalyzed. The business reputationof non-governmental associations andinternational news agency has suffered significantdamage.
According to our sources, the given activity of financial police officers began in October 2015. Our opponents had misinformed senior government officials about the allegedly destructive activity of the Union of Journalists of Kazakhstan, the National Press Club and the KazTAG news agency. We consider these illegal actions of the anti-corruption agency as an attempt of a public authority to pressurize non- governmental associations and the media, to challenge professional journalistic activity, to limit the freedom of speech, to hamper the information acquisition and distribution.
Seitkazy Matayev
Vice-president of the Confederation of Journalistic Unions of the CIS and Baltic countries, the Board Chairman of the Union of Journalists of Kazakhstan, the Director of the non-governmental association "National Press Club"
Aset Matayev,
Director-general of the News Agency KazTAG
February 22, 2016.
