Statement on violations by Kazakhstan of its international obligations and constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech and freedom of expression, and persecutions of journalists and civil society activists

17 february 2017

It is with great concern that we have to state that the fight against terrorism, corruption and crime is more and more frequently ends up in persecution of independent media, journalists and civil society activists. Whenever this persecution takes place, national and international norms and standards of fair trial are thrown aside in a gross and harsh manner shrinking down the information playing field, in glaring defiance of constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech.

In 2016, Seitkazy MATAEV, chairman of the Union of Journalists of Kazakhstan and president of the National Press Club, and Asset MATAEV, general director of independent information agency KazTAG, received long sentences under the pretext of the fight against financial crimes. Long before the investigation was completed and a trial had a chance to be carried out, an official statement of the Department of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau labelled Seitkazy MATAEV a criminal: “Mataev has committed grave corruption and economic crimes”. Six thousand pages of documents, prepared by the defense, were thrown out by both investigators and courts. A court ruling allowed for the building of the National Press Club in Almaty to be demolished, thereby destroying one of the very few dialogue platforms available to the civil society.

In Aktobe, Sanat DOSOV, a father of three underage kids, has been jailed to three years on charges of instigating an inter-ethnic discord. His “crime,” in fact, was that he dared to criticize Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in social networks.

Ruslan GINATULLIN, a resident of Pavlodar, has been jailed for six years for re-posting video clips that are freely available in the open on YouTube. The same court that refused to listen to his explanations that his only intent was to condemn nationalistic narrative contained in those clips, was thorough enough to reproduce and quote Mr. GINATULIN’s deeds of the past, the ones for which he already had served a sentence.

An accusation of Guzyal BAIDALINOVA, editor-in-chief of an internet portal NAKANUNE.KZ, and of other journalists on charges of dissemination of knowingly false fabrications, has resulted in the death of entrepreneur Tair KALDYBAEV in a jail cell, Ms. BAIDALINOVA’s restriction of liberty, and destruction of an independent media outlet that provided an alternative voice.

A number of bloggers and civil society activists have been jailed. A criminal investigation has been resumed against Alexander KHARLAMOV, a civil activist from Ridder.

2017 has been overshadowed by an attack on the independent newspaper Tribuna.Sayasi-Kalam. Zhanbolat MAMAI, the newspaper’s editor-in-chief, has been arrested, printing equipment that is vitally important for the functioning of the publication has been seized and the office sealed, which puts in grave doubt the possibility of issuing even the next issue, let alone future operations. On the very day of Mr. MAMAI’s detention, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, acting in braze defiance of the principle of presumption of innocence and without having a valid court verdict, was quick to label Zhanbolat MAMAI an “accessory” to politician and banker Mukhtar Ablyazov who now lives abroad in exile. “He [Mr. MAMAI] has been involved in money laundering of parts of the funds that had been stolen from the BTA Bank under the pretence of legal financial transactions, using the Sayasi-Kalam:Tribuna newspaper as a tool,” a statement of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau said, even before any facts could be established and laid out in a court verdict.

Accusations of economic crimes or incitement of various kinds of discord that are not verified or backed with sufficient evidence, and are based on legally inadmissible expert opinions which are conjectural more than anything else, represent a direct threat to the freedom of speech and freedom of expression, and to the very existence of independent media and journalists’ and bloggers’ unhindered ability to do their job.

In light of the foregoing, we demand the following:

International obligations and constitutional guarantees for freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and activity of mass media in the Republic of Kazakhstan must be upheld;
Persecution of independent media, journalists and civil society activists exercising their rights to freedom of expression, must end;
The verdicts against Seitkazy MATAEV, Asset MATAEV, Sanat DOSOV, Rinat GINATULLIN and other bloggers and civil society activists must be revised and those people must be set free;
Persecution of Zhanbolat MAMAI must end, and he must be set free;
The principle of the rule of law and fair justice in all cases, especially those of political nature, must be strictly upheld.

list of signatories

Marzhan Aspandiyarova – human rights defender

Yermurat Bapi – head of “DAT” newspaper project

Anara Ibrayeva – director of NGO “Kadir-Kasiyet”

Rasul Jumaly - political scientist, editor of “Exclusive” magazine

Tamara Kaleeva – president of International foundation for protection for freedom of speech “Adil soz”

Yerlan Kaliyev – jurist, human rights defender

Amirzhan Kosanov – journalist, politic

Aydos Sarym – chairman of Altynbek Sarsenbayuly foundation

Aina Shormanbayeva – president of public foundation “International legal initiative”

Rozlana Taukina – president of Kazakhstan journalists federation

Guljan Yergalieva - journalist and civil activist

Ramazan Yesergepov – chairman of board of «Journalists in danger» Zhovtis

Yevgeniy Zhovtis – director of Kazakhstan International bureau for human rights and rule of law

15 February 2017