UN Human Rights Committee admitted violation of Sharip Kurakbayev's rights

Back in 2013, the courts suspended the newspaper Pravda Kazahstan for three months. It belonged to the oppositional Communist Party of Kazakhstan. The grounds for suspension were purely formal - confusion with the certificates of re-registration of the newspaper. After going through all national courts, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper, Sharip Kurakbayev, filed a complaint with the UN Human Rights Committee.

On December 7, 2021, a response to this complaint came from the UN Human Rights Committee. The Committee admitted that in 2013 the Kazakh authorities groundlessly restricted the right of Sharip Kurakbayev to freedom of speech, thereby violating Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Alas, there is no one to rejoice it - Sharip Kurakbayev died in August 2018. The heart of the 57-year-old journalist collapsed. There is no Communist Party in Kazakhstan either. But the lessons are worth learning.

«Accordingly, the State party is obligated, inter alia, to provide Ms. Sabdikenova with adequate compensation, including reimbursement for any legal costs and administrative fines incurred by Mr. Kurakbaev. The State party is also under an obligation to take all steps necessary to prevent similar violations from occurring in the future. In this connection, the Committee reiterates that, pursuant to its obligations under article 2 (2) of the Covenant, the State party should review its legislation», - says the document by UN Human Rights Committee

The Committee wishes to receive from Kazakhstan, within 180 days, information about the measures taken to give effect to the Committee’s Views.