Kazakhstan needs a law "On Guarantees of Freedom of Speech"

What law do Kazakh journalists need? And is it necessary? This issue was discussed on May 3 at a press conference dedicated to World Press Freedom Day.

Marat Asipov, editor of Ratel.kz, believes that Kazakhstan does not need any media laws, the existing codes - criminal, civil, administrative, etc. - are enough. Nevertheless, being a realist, he agrees with Tamara Kaleyeva, President of the  International Foundation for  Protection of Freedom of Speech Adil Soz, that our officials are not ready to let the media go “free”, and if so, we need to draft the new law  ourselves.

Adil Soz, in a team with media lawyers and experts from various NGOs, drafted and submitted to the Ministry of Information and Social Development (MISD) a  concept of the law “On Guarantees of Freedom of Speech”. The authors believe that the new law should contain specific obligations of the state to ensure the right to freedom of speech, clear conditions for limiting this right, rules of responsibility for violation of these restrictions and liability for unjustified restrictions.

Now MISD is forming a working group. It has already included several journalists from Nur-Sultan, but their Almaty colleagues,  whom Minister of Information Askar Umarov turend to meet as well, have not yet nominated their candidates. However, the minister told in a telephone conversation with  T. Kaleyeva before the press-conference that the full list of the working group would be published in the coming days. "Adil soz", in its turn, will publish in the coming days a document developed by social activists, which can become the basis of the law "On Guarantees of Freedom of Speech".

Of course, the president himself gave the go-ahead to the new media law, and officials will now try their best. “If we don’t get ahead of the officials now, then these may be just other amendments that would consider all bloggers, add new restrictions, tighten sanctions and expand the control of authorized bodies,” warned Tamara Kaleyeva.

"But this law is about us and for us. So journalists should actively support the idea of ​​a law on guarantees of freedom of speech, should make their proposals, additions and, in any case, should widely cover it", - Marat Asipov and Galiya Azhenova, lawyer of the Adil Soz Foundation, convinced their colleagues.

The concept of the law "On Guarantees of Freedom of Speech" is so far the only draft that MISD have received.