From prosecutions to bans and spurious copyright claims: how Kazakhstan’s journalists are being silenced
Ahead of this month’s parliamentary election, independent journalists in Kazakhstan have faced “unprecedented” pressure, ranging from criminal prosecutions to professional bans, and this crackdown warrants heightened international scrutiny to ensure the country upholds its obligations on media freedom. Voters go to the polls on August 23 to elect a unicameral parliament established under a new…
Kazakhstan sentences journalist Gulnara Bazhkenova to eight years in prison as pre-election press crackdown intensifies
New York, August 19, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists is shocked by the eight-year prison sentence handed down to Gulnara Bazhkenova, former editor-in-chief of independent outlet Orda, in Kazakhstan on August 18, and warns that this latest prosecution appears to be part of an escalating crackdown on the media ahead of elections this month. An Almaty…
Kazakh journalists face years in prison on retaliatory charges
New York, September 30, 2016– Kazakh authorities should immediately drop all charges against Seytkazy Matayev, head of the Kazakh Journalists’ Union and chair of the National Press Club of Kazakhstan, and his son Aset Matayev, director of the independent news agency KazTag, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. A verdict in their trial is…