News

Several developments in recent days have once again raised concerns about the state of independent journalism in Kazakhstan.

On 3 September, a court in Atyrau ordered journalist and activist Olesya Vertinskaya, who works with the local media outlet Dorozhny Patrul (“Road Patrol”), to be placed under house arrest for two months. Shortly before the court hearing, a video showing police officers forcibly taking her from outside the city prosecutor’s office circulated on social media.

In Pavlodar, the car of Hronika.kz journalist Olga Voronko was vandalized during the night of 2 September: its tires were slashed and the vehicle was doused with green antiseptic dye. According to the outlet, that same night the lock on the apartment door of an editor from another Pavlodar-based website was also damaged.

Arman Kyrykbayev has been appointed Minister of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan. His candidacy had previously been approved by the Kurultai Committee on Social and Cultural Development.

The Elmedia editorial team has reported a new wave of Instagram post removals following copyright infringement complaints.

Journalist Zhanna Baitelova has reported that Facebook has removed several of her posts following copyright complaints, putting her account at risk of being blocked. In her blog, Baitelova regularly writes about pressure on independent media and journalists, as well as other issues of public interest.