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Kazakh Newspaper Banned In First Of Dozens Of Likely Closures


Clouds of smoke rise from the Kazakh town of Zhanaozen in December 2011 in a still image taken from video acquired by Reuters TV.
Clouds of smoke rise from the Kazakh town of Zhanaozen in December 2011 in a still image taken from video acquired by Reuters TV.
A court in the Kazakh city of Almaty has ruled to ban the opposition newspaper "Golos Respubliki."

The ruling came one day after state prosecutors filed applications to shut down some 40 media outlets and political organizations.

The court accused "Golos Respubliki" (Voice of the Republic) of supporting protests by striking oil workers in December 2011 in the western oil town of Zhanaozen.

At least 17 people were killed on December 16 during clashes with police in unrest related to the protests.

The crackdown on opposition media and organizations comes after Vladimir Kozlov, the leader of the opposition Algha (Forward) party, was sentenced in October to 7 1/2 years in prison for allegedly calling for the overthrow of the government during the protests.

Based on reporting by dpa and Interfax

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