New York, September 3, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned that recent changes to Kazakhstan’s domestic media accreditation regulations and proposed changes to foreign media accreditation could be used to silence critical journalists.
“New and proposed amendments to Kazakhstan’s accreditation regulations are excessive and open too many doors to censorship. Instead of the greater openness promised by President Tokayev’s ‘New Kazakhstan,’ what journalists are really getting is ever more creeping state control,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “Kazakh authorities should heed journalists’ legitimate complaints and revise the media accreditation rules.”
The new rules governing domestic media, which went into force August 20, allow journalists’ accreditation to be withdrawn for six months if they twice fail to comply with rules at news events, which could potentially include asking off-topic questions.
The proposed rules for foreign media, posted for public comment August 19, would allow the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to deny or revoke accreditation for any violation of Kazakh law, including minor “administrative” offenses. A media law passed in June already bans foreign media from unaccredited journalistic activity.
Press freedom advocates say the proposed changes are worrying given authorities’ monthslong denial of accreditation to dozens of journalists working for U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Kazakh service, known locally as Radio Azattyq, over a “false information” fine, as well as escalating use of administrative “false information” charges against domestic journalists.
Diana Okremova, head of local press freedom organization Legal Media Center, told CPJ that the reforms amounted to an “intensification of government control” that would give authorities “wide discretionary tools to clamp down on” journalists.
CPJ’s emails to the Ministry of Culture and Information and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment did not receive any replies.