Independent journalists and government critics in Kazakhstan are facing growing pressure ahead of parliamentary elections this weekend, rights groups say, pointing to criminal investigations, detentions, travel restrictions, and court-ordered bans on journalism.
The vote on August 23 will elect the first members of the Kurultai, a new unicameral parliament that replaces Kazakhstan’s two-chamber legislature under constitutional changes approved in a March referendum.
President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev has portrayed the changes as political modernization. Critics say they have further concentrated power in the presidency, raising questions about the environment in which the first Kurultai election will take place.
Adilet (Justice), a party founded in May and led by Toqaev’s former presidential administration chief, is heavily favored to win, with the latest national poll putting its support at 70.2 percent. The party absorbed the former ruling Amanat party and inherited its nationwide political network, leading critics to portray it as a rebranding of the pro-Toqaev political establishment.
In an assessment last month of the upcoming vote, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights said people interviewed by its mission had raised concerns about a “growing intolerance of criticism by the authorities, resulting in increasing pressure and sanctions.” They said this has contributed to “self-censorship and reduced civic participation.”
Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev (file photo)
On August 14, Civil Rights Defenders and eight other human rights and press freedom organizations warned of what they called a “broader, longer-term pattern” of politically motivated charges, online restrictions, and other forms of harassment and intimidation against government critics.
The organizations highlighted four recent cases.
Independent journalist and government critic Dinara Yegubaeva faces a criminal investigation following a July 31 traffic accident involving her car and a cyclist. Rights groups say the case was initially treated as an administrative matter. Authorities have also barred her from leaving Kazakhstan.
Journalist and editor Lukpan Akhmedyarov is under investigation after sharing a Ukrainian government list of Kazakh citizens alleged to be fighting for Russia in Ukraine. Authorities accuse him of knowingly spreading false information. He was also barred from leaving Kazakhstan on August 3.
Journalist Aleksandra Alyokhova, known by her pen name Sentsova, was convicted on August 3 of publishing private information about a person involved in a dispute at an Almaty bazaar. She received a three-year suspended prison sentence and was also barred from practicing journalism for three years. Rights groups say the information had previously been made public on a Telegram channel.
Azamat Omarov (file photo)
Political commentator Azamat Omarov, who runs the current affairs YouTube channel Akhual Segodnya, has been held in pretrial detention since July 18 on suspicion of inciting social, national, racial and religious discord. His lawyer says the case concerns videos containing satire and criticism of the authorities.
Government Denies Crackdown
The Kazakh government rejects allegations that it is suppressing legitimate journalism and criticism.
Culture and Information Minister Aida Balaeva said on August 17 that the government does not block the social media accounts of journalists or media outlets.
“The state is not interested in such actions or in restricting freedom of speech and opinion,” she said. “Combating unlawful content must not lead to unjustified restrictions...”
Several recent court cases, however, have resulted in journalists being barred from their profession.
KazTAG editor in chief Amir Qasenov
On July 31, an Almaty court sentenced Amir Qasenov, editor in chief of KazTAG, an independent Kazakh news agency, to one year and three months of restricted freedom after convicting him of knowingly disseminating false information in articles about Freedom Finance, one of Kazakhstan’s largest brokerage firms. He was also banned from practicing journalism for five years.
KazTAG’s general director Aset Mataev was convicted of failing to properly perform his managerial duties and of hooliganism in connection with a separate altercation in March. He received the same restricted-freedom sentence and three-year journalism ban.
Both men denied the charges.
Human rights activist Yevgeny Zhovtis said such restrictions have implications beyond professional journalism because bloggers and ordinary citizens also publish information and opinions online.
“The approach here is not merely a ban on journalistic activity; its scope is much broader,” he said. “It amounts to depriving a person of their civil rights, specifically their freedom to express their opinion.”
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CPJ Expresses Concerns Over Kazakhstan's New Media Accreditation RulesDiana Okremova, director of Kazakhstan’s Legal Media Center, said bans on journalism were “completely incompatible” with democratic principles and Kazakhstan’s human-rights commitments.
Another prominent independent journalist has been given a similar professional ban -- along with a lengthy prison sentence.
On August 18, an Almaty court sentenced Gulnar Bazhkenova, former editor in chief of the news outlet Orda.kz, to eight years in prison and barred her from journalism and other activities for five years.
Bazhkenova, who had been under house arrest since December, faced multiple charges, including repeatedly disseminating information that authorities claimed she knew to be false. She denied all the charges against her.
Digital Restrictions Mount
Press freedom monitors say the pressure has also increasingly moved online.
RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service and Azattyq Asia, its Russian-language unit covering Central Asia, became difficult to access in Kazakhstan in May after RFE/RL published an investigation examining links between relatives of Toqaev and VD Stroy-Engineering, a recipient of large state contracts.
Kazakh authorities denied involvement. Network measurements, however, found evidence consistent with deliberate restrictions on access.
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Access To RFE/RL Kazakh Websites Mysteriously 'Throttled' After Investigative StoryThe Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) has separately documented what it described as fraudulent copyright complaints targeting RFE/RL content, including political coverage and investigations involving people allegedly linked to Kazakhstan’s political elite.
Nazira Darimbet, head of the Adil Soz press freedom foundation, said online restrictions intensified around the March constitutional referendum, eased afterward, and have risen again ahead of the Kurultai election.
“Sometimes we cannot even keep up,” she said. “This one is being blocked, that one is being blocked. Complaints are being filed against YouTube videos, and [journalists’ accounts] are being flagged for blocking.”
The government denies responsibility for blocking journalists’ accounts.
The August 23 vote will be the first nationwide election held under Kazakhstan’s new constitutional framework.
SEE ALSO:
Kazakh President Seeks Tighter Grip On Power With New ConstitutionThe new constitution replaces the Senate and lower-house Mazhilis with the Kurultai and creates the post of vice president. The president appoints the vice president with parliamentary consent and continues to control key senior appointments.
For Toqaev, who took office in 2019 and consolidated his position after deadly unrest in January 2022, the election comes amid criticism that the constitutional overhaul has simply strengthened his grip on power.
Sociologist Serik Beisembayev, director of the independent research center PaperLab, says pressure once directed primarily at prominent political opponents and major media organizations now affects a much wider group.
“We now see that this has spread to a much broader circle: journalists, bloggers, stand-up comedians, activists, and even ordinary users,” he told Azattyq Asia.