The Committee to Protect Journalists joined eight local and international press freedom and human rights groups on Friday in expressing deep concern over escalating pressure on independent journalists in Kazakhstan ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for August 23.
The groups’ joint statement details how, in the weeks leading up to the vote – the first to be held for a new unicameral parliament established under a new constitution passed earlier this year – the authorities have arrested political commentator Azamat Omarov, placed prominent independent journalists Lukpan Akhmedyarov and Dinara Yegeubayeva under criminal investigation and travel bans, and sentenced reporter Aleksandra Alyokhova to a multi-year prison term.
Noting that these cases form part of a “broader, longer-term pattern”, the statement highlights concerns that this pressure on independent journalists has reached an “unprecedented level” and warrants enhanced attention from the international community as Kazakhstan heads to the polls.
In April, CPJ led a group, including some of the same organizations featured in this joint statement, in writing to Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to express concern over a wave of journalist arrests around the time the new constitution was voted on in March.
Read the full statement here.