Tag Archives: media freedom

Kazakh journalist Matayev accuses elite of stitch up

ALMATY, SEPT. 27 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — During his trial for various financial crimes, Seitkazy Matayev, the former head of the journalists union of Kazakhstan, accused Parliamentary Speaker Nurlan Nigmatullin and media tycoon Alexander Klebanov of organising his arrest in February.

The accusation that members of the Kazakh elite were behind his arrest underscores Matayev’s defiance during his trial and shines a rare spotlight on the powers and influences of the Kazakh elite. It has also peaked interest in the case, already one of the most high-profile corruption cases in Kazakhstan.

Matayev, who had once been press secretary to Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, and his son Asset are accused of stealing government money and tax evasion. Matayev’s trial is due to end on Oct. 3. Prosecutors have asked for six years and eight months jail term.

“Nigmatullin and Klebanov are among those who want to limit my professional activity by incriminating me of financial crimes,” Matayev said. “Nigmatullin once told me bluntly: ‘Give me KazTAG and everything will stop’, referring to months of harassment against me and my family.”

Nigmatullin and Klebanov have not responded.

KazTAG is the news agency which Matayev owns. He also owned the National Press Club in Almaty, which has now been destroyed.

Denis Krivosheyev, a political analyst, said Matayev’s case is reflection of the poor media environment in Kazakhstan.

“Seitkazy’s press club provided a platform for opposition journalists, which would irritate authorities to some extent, but he had also given prominence in his news outlets to topics that upset some elite members,” he said.

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(News report from Issue No. 298, published on Sept. 30 2016)

Kyrgyz MPs pass media bill

BISHKEK, JUNE 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan’s parliament passed the first reading of a law that will restrict foreign funding of TV channels, a move its proponents have said is vital to protect media integrity but its detractors have said limits freedom.

The bill, which will have to be passed two more times, cuts the share of foreign financing for mass media outlets down to 35% and prohibits any foreign parties from establishing TV channels in Kyrgyzstan.

Media reported that the bill had been passed by 79 votes to 30.

Medet Tiulegenov, a political studies expert, said that the bill may have been pushed through by MPs to feed off popular mistrust of foreigners and boost their profile.

“By promoting a law against foreign investments in local media, MPs are trying to listen to that part of the population, which blames foreigners for problems here,” he said. “There are many MPs, who are not well-known among the population yet, but would like to get attention and popularity.”

This is the second major stand-off in Kyrgyzstan this year between groups of conservative, nationalist MPs and rights campaigners. Earlier this year, at the final reading, parliament rejected a bill that would have banned NGOs from directly receiving foreign funding.

Critics of the bill have said that its main aim was to close down the local office of the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Begaim Usenova, a Kyrgyz media expert, said that this law is another attempt to restrict people’s freedom. “It is incorrect to say that foreign funded media sources are a threat to the state, the bill’s initiators could not prove that there has ever been such a case,” she said.

And the bill appears to have already been watered down after protests by a few dozen people in front of parliament. Restrictions on foreign funding of media were reduced to just TV, rather than including print and radio too.

Still, the bill does carry a degree of popular support in Kyrgyzstan.

Yulia, 33, a Bishkek resident, said: “This is a good law, as every foreigner has its own interests, whereas we have to care about our security.”

And Dauren, 30, another Bishkek resident, said: “I am happy that there are more Kyrgyz patriots in our parliament than western lobbyists.”

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(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)

Kyrgyzstan introduces media law

MAY 13 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyz legislators proposed a new bill to restrict foreign media funding into the country, a law that could further undermine Kyrgyzstan’s shaky freedom of expression record. The new law would ban foreigners from setting up media organisations in the country and restrict foreign funding to 20% of an organisation’s total revenue. Media lobby groups have said that this law will serve only to restrict media and reduce free speech.

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(News report from Issue No. 281, published on May 20 2016)

Radio Free Europe complains about Azerbaijan to European court

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SEPT. 13 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said it had filed a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg against Azerbaijan for deliberately hampering its reporting. RFE/RL was evicted from its office in Baku in December 2014 after the Azerbaijani authorities accused it of various tax related offences. RFE/RL has complained that the Azerbaijani authorities are dragging out their investigation to hamper attempts by RFE/RL to clear its name in court.
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— This story was first published in issue 343 of The Conway Bulletin on Sept. 15 2017

Civil rights fall across the region

EDINBURGH/NEW YORK, FEB. 2 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Civil freedoms in Central Asia and the South Caucasus took a turn for the worse in 2014 as governments moved closer to Russia and worried that street demonstrations in Ukraine may spread, Freedom House said in an interview.

The sharpest deterioration in civil rights in 2014, according to the US-based lobby group, came in Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan.

“Governments restricted freedom of assembly and speech to prevent ‘maidans’ and Russian encouragement of separatism,” Nate Schenkkan, a Eurasia Programme Officer at Freedom House, said in an interview with The Bulletin. Schenkkan’s reference to so-called maidans was to Ukrainian street demonstrations which morphed into a full scale revolution.
The interview was conducted over twitter with questions also taken from viewers.

At the end of last year Azerbaijani police raided the office of the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. In the interview with The Bulletin, Schenkkan said the police raid was the culmination of a tough year for media and government critics in Azerbaijan.

“There was a full-scale crackdown. Now (there are) 90 plus political prisoners, all independent media shuttered in Azerbaijan,” he said. “Sanctions for Azerbaijani officials should be on the table and EU leaders should skip the European Games.” Azerbaijan is hosting the inaugural European Games later this year.

As for Kyrgyzstan, Schenkkan said new legislation had dented Kyrgyzstan’s image.

“Kyrgyzstan is the most disappointing because it is a reversal after relative gains recently,” he said. “Copycat attempts at Russian legislation against LGBTI and NGOs nearly passed.”
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(News report from Issue No. 218, published on Feb. 11 2015)

Free speech case to be heard in Kyrgyzstan

AUG. 25 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – For human rights workers and freedom of speech activists, these are increasingly worrying times in Kyrgyzstan.

Once considered a bastion of political and social pluralism, Kyrgyzstan appears to be retarding. Earlier this year politicians prepared the ground to implement harsh anti-gay laws, now reports have emerged that say the intelligence services are prosecuting two journalists for alleged defamation.

Eurasianet reported that Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security (GKNB) has demanded damages of nearly $20,000 from Shorukh Saipov, a journalist who writes for the independent Fergana News website.

In an article in May, Mr Saipov said that the GKNB was extorting money from Muslims by threatening to prosecute them for extremism. The GKNB has said that the article deliberately tried to tarnish its reputation, charges that Fergana News has denied.

Highlighting the pressure on the media in Kyrgyzstan, Mr Saipov’s brother, also a journalist, was murdered in the southern city of Osh in 2007. His killers were never found.

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(News report from Issue No. 197, published on Aug. 27 2014)

TV crew attacked in Kazakhstan

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OCT. 26 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Kazakh independent internet TV channel Stan TV said four men armed with baseball bats and a gun attacked two of its journalists in western Kazakhstan. The journalists had been reporting on the stand-off between oil workers and a subsidiary of the state oil and gas company Kazmunaigas.

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(News report from Issue No. 63, published on Nov. 1 2011)

Uzbek president’s daughter loses libel case

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JULY 5 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – In France, at least, it appears acceptable to describe Uzbek President Islam Karimov as a dictator. A court in France threw out a libel case brought by his youngest daughter Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva against the news website rue89.com who described her as “a dictator’s daughter”. She said this was an unfair slight. The judge said it was accurate.

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(News report from Issue No. 47, published on July 6 2011)

Uzbek president’s daughter sues website

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MAY 19 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) -Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva, youngest daughter of Uzbek President Islam Karimov, began libel action against the French news website Rue89 for calling her the “daughter of a dictator”. Human rights groups welcomed the law suit as an opportunity to highlight the Uzbek regime which they accuse of killings and torture.

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(News report from Issue No. 41, published on May 24 2011)

Journalist convicted in Uzbekistan

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OCT. 13 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan convicted journalist Vladimir Berezovsky of libel on the Russian language news website vesti.uz. The court granted him an amnesty and he returned to work afterwards but Human Rights Watch still said the conviction was an attack on freedom of speech.

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(News report from Issue No. 11, published on Oct. 14 2010)