IFEX SIGN-ON KAZAKHSTAN: The state must release Amangeldy Batyrbekov and end criminal defamation

30 October 2019

**If you would like to sign this statement, please send your organisation's signature to actions@ifex.orgbefore Tuesday, 5 November, 5 PM EST / 11 PM CET.

The letter will be published on ifex.org on Wednesday, 6 November.

SOURCE: Adil Soz

Dear IFEX members,

IFEX member Adil Soz is requesting your support for the statement below calling on the government of Kazakhstan to release journalist and editor of the Saryagash info newspaper Amangeldy Batyrbekov, and drop the criminal defamation laws under which he has been sentenced.

Batyrbekov is currently serving a 27 month sentence for several Facebook posts described alleged corrupt acts of Bakhtiyar Abdiev, the head of the education department of Kazakhstan’s Keles region.

As you are aware, criminal defamation is widely seen as a problematic restriction on free speech that is not necessary to maintain due restrictions on libel. Batyrbekov is unfortunately far from the only person to be prosecuted under such overreaching legislation in Kazakhstan: in 2016-2017, 1314 courts were held for libel in relation to about 2,000 people, and 93 people were convicted.

Batyrbekov’s recent trial was marred by significant irregularities, including being heard in front of a judge who had previously been subject to his critical reporting. This is also not the first time Batyrbekov has been imprisoned under dubious charges following his investigation of alleged corruption. In October 2015, Batyrbekov was sentenced to one and a half years in prison for defamation of Nurlan Saparov, the deputy prosecutor of the Saryagash district. Though released in 2016, Batyrbekov was sentenced a year later to two years in prison for the same news article, under a different article of the Criminal Code of Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan’s next UPR is next week on 7 November 2019. It is crucial that Kazakhstan’s government is reminded that such treatment of dissident voices is not overlooked, that Batyrbekov’s judicial harassment must end, and that criminal defamation laws should be struck down.

To sign on to the statement, please send your organisation's signature to actions@ifex.org before 5 November 5 PM EST / 11 PM CET.

Thank you,

The IFEX Network Engagement Team

Dauren Abayev
Minister of Information
The Ministry of Information
Republic of Kazakhstan, Nur-Sultan, pr. Mangelik El, 8, House of Ministries, 15 entrance
G. Nur-Sultan, Nur-Sultan, st. Mugilik El, 6, Government House

Cc: Nurdauletov Gizat Daurenbekovich
General Prosecutor of Kazakhstan
General Prosecutor’s Office of Kazakhstan
010000, the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nur-Sultan city,
Mangіlіk El avenue, 14

Dear Minister,

The undersigned list of freedom of expression and human rights organizations worlwide are calling for the release of journalist Amangeldy Batyrbekov, and reconsideration of criminal defamation laws under which he has been sentenced.

As you are aware, on September 23, 2019, the Saryagash district court of the Turkestan region found  civil activist and editor of the Saryagash info newspaper Amangeldy Batyrbekov guilty of defamation and insult, and sentenced him to two years and 3 months in prison. The grounds for this sentence was a complaint by Bakhtiyar Abdiev, the head of the education department of Keles region, about a number of critical Facebook posts by Batyrbekov.

The imprisonment of Batyrbekov for expressing his opinion is inconsistent with Kazakhstan’s obligations arising from its ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including Article 19, the right to freedom of expression. The appropriate boundaries of exercising this right was clarified in General Comment No. 34 of the UN Human Rights Committee as follows:

“At least with regard to comments about public figures, consideration should be given to avoiding penalizing or otherwise rendering unlawful untrue statements that have been published in error but without malice… In any event, a public interest in the subject matter of the criticism should be recognized as a defence... States parties should consider the decriminalization of defamation… and, in any case, the application of the criminal law should only be countenanced in the most serious of cases and imprisonment is never an appropriate penalty.”

We hope that the court of appellate jurisdiction, after hearing the case of A. Batyrbekov, will make a decision in accordance with paragraph 3 of Art. 4 of the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan: "International agreements ratified by the Republic have primacy over its laws."

In this spirit, we wish to make the following general recommendations:

To the General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan:

1. Decriminalize defamation and insult, and provide a tolerant environment for needed social opinion and debate around the actions of senior government officials;

To the Ministry of Information and Public Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan:

2. Reform media legislation, in accordance with the recommendations of the UN Human Rights Council and UN Human Rights Committee;

To the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan:

3. Ensure an open and fair hearing of an appeal of the case of Amengeldy Batyrbekov, in accordance with international principles of freedom of speech, and free of the irregularities that have marred the current decision.

Signed,