ASTANA -- A group of Kazakh lawmakers approved a draft bill on January 25 that would allow the Central Asian nation's authorities to refuse accreditation to foreign media outlets and their reporters on grounds of national security concerns. The move comes at a time when the country's Foreign Ministry has refused to prolong RFE/RL's correspondents' accreditation for 2024.
According to the draft legislation, the Foreign Ministry could refuse accreditation to foreign media outlets and their reporters "in case of a threat to the national security of the Republic of Kazakhstan."
The bill also says that any activities of foreign media and their journalists without accreditation will be banned, and the decision to suspend foreign media outlets' activities in the country can be made by the Foreign Ministry without a court's ruling.
Gulmira Birzhanova of the Legal Media Center rights group said on January 26 that the proposed bill must be rejected in its current form and called on journalists and the rest of society to actively take part in discussions.
According to Birzhanova, the bill's text is vague and may lead to the authorities adopting a "selective approach" to certain foreign media outlets operating in the tightly controlled former Soviet republic.
Birzhanova also said her group will urge President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev to veto the bill if it is finally approved by parliament.
As of January 26, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry has not given or extended accreditation to 36 correspondents of RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, known locally as Radio Azattyq. Some of RFE/RL's correspondents have not been able to extend their accreditation since 2022.
In accordance with current legislation, the Foreign Ministry must make decisions on accreditation within two months after it receives an application. In the event of a refusal, the ministry must provide an explanation for such a decision.
RFE/RL said it plans to go to court and lodge an appeal against the ministry’s decision to deny the correspondents' accreditation.