Kazakhstan: privacy bill threatens journalists

26 Nov 09 | Index Index, minipost, News and features

Kazakhstan’s parliament passed a new privacy bill on 19 November which threatens the ability of journalists to carry out investigative work. The bill forbids the publication of information relating to private lives, including those of public persons. It also gives the authorities the power to shut down publications and imprison journalists who violate standards of privacy. The bill now only needs President Nazarbayev’s approval to be adopted as law. It is thought that the new bill may be in reaction to the publication of a series of wire-tapped conversations between Nazarbayev and his aides in 2007.

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Kazakhstan editor jailed

27 Aug 09 | Index Index, minipost

Ramazan Yesergepov, the editor of an independent weekly paper in Kazakhstan, Alma-Ata Info, has been jailed for three years on a charge of “collecting information that contains state secrets.” He was sentenced in the absence of a lawyer, his family, and the press. Read more here

Kazakhstan: Editor jailed for three years

11 Aug 09 | Index Index, minipost

Ramazan Esergepov, the owner and editor of the weekly Alma Ata Info in Kazakhstan, has been sentenced to three years in prison on charges of gathering and divulging classified documents. The trial, which also banned Esergepov from publishing a newspaper for two years, had been held behind closed doors since it began in April on the grounds that state secrets were involved. Read more here