Tokayev Named Among RSF’s 2026 “Press Freedom Predators”

Kazakhstan’s president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has been included in the 2026 list of 33 “Press Freedom Predators” published by the international organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF). According to the RSF report, Tokayev was placed in the “Law” category for the use of legislation and judicial mechanisms to exert pressure on journalists and media outlets.

The list was released on November 2, the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists. According to RSF, those named employ various methods to restrict press freedom, ranging from criminal prosecution and physical violence to economic pressure, digital attacks, and campaigns aimed at discrediting journalists.

Alongside Tokayev, the “Law” category includes Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Russia’s media regulator Roskomnadzor, and others whom RSF associates with the misuse of legal mechanisms to target the media.

In its profile of Tokayev, RSF highlights an increase in criminal proceedings against independent journalists in Kazakhstan, particularly cases involving allegations of knowingly disseminating false information. As one example, the organization cites the convictions of KazTAG news agency executives Asset Matayev and Amir Kassenov, who were banned by a court from practicing journalism for five years.

RSF also raises concerns about restrictions on journalists covering the constitutional referendum, obstacles to independent election reporting, limitations on the accreditation of foreign correspondents, and the lack of progress in the investigation into the murder of journalist and blogger Aidos Sadykov in Kyiv.

The organization further points to a climate of self-censorship that, in its assessment, has developed as a result of criminal prosecution, administrative pressure, and threats against journalists.

The RSF list features 33 individuals and organizations divided into five categories: politics, security, law, economics, and society. Among those named are US president Donald Trump, Russian president Vladimir Putin, and the technology corporations Alphabet and Meta.

The “Press Freedom Predators” list is a separate RSF initiative that complements its annual World Press Freedom Index. In the 2026 World Press Freedom Index, Kazakhstan ranks 149th out of 180 countries, having fallen eight places compared with the previous year.