Kazakhstan: Flagrant Persecution of Independent Media

Washington

In response to court decisions against two critical news outlets in Kazakhstan, online newspaper Nakanune.kz and ADAM magazine, Freedom House issued the following statement:

“It is shameful that the government of Kazakhstan continues to use the courts to try and silence media that holds it to account,” said Susan Corke, director of Eurasia programs. “These two cases perfectly illustrate the funhouse world that is Kazakhstan, where a bank can win tens of thousands of dollars in damages for a letter to the editor, or you can be suspended for not publishing.”
 
Background: 
Nakanune.kz and ADAM magazine are media outlets known for critical reporting in Kazakhstan. On August 27, Nakanune.kz lost an appeal of a decision against it assessing damages of roughly $82,000 for publishing a letter to the editor alleging corruption at a Kazakhstani bank. The same day, ADAM was found guilty of an administrative violation for publishing only in Russian when its media registration says that it is a publication in Russian and Kazakh, resulting in a fine of $8,000 and suspension for three months.

Kazakhstan is rated Not Free in Freedom in the World 2015, Not Free in Freedom of the Press 2015, Partly Free in Freedom on the Net 2014, and receives a democracy score of 6.61 on a scale of 1 to 7, with 7 as the worst possible score, in Nations in Transit 2015.