Independent Kazakh Newspaper Loses Appeal Of Suspension

Kazakh authorities say they have suspended "Pravdivaya gazeta" for failing to correctly report its circulation numbers.

ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- An independent newspaper in Kazakhstan has lost its appeal against its suspension.

On August 22, the Almaty City Court upheld the decision to halt the operations of "Pravdivaya gazeta" (The Truthful Newspaper) for three months.

Earlier this month, the Almaty Administrative Court suspended the newspaper, saying that the periodical's editors had failed to correctly report its circulation numbers.

The weekly newspaper's editors say the court's decision is politically motivated.

In April, officers from the city's Interior Policies Department confiscated the newspaper's first issue.

The authorities cited a "failure to clearly show exact publication dates in registration documents."

Also in April, the European Parliament adopted a resolution criticizing Astana for failing to respect political, media, and religious freedoms.

Kazakh authorities banned dozens of opposition and independent media outlets in December for carrying what Kazakh authorities deemed "extremist content."