CPJ concerned about press freedom conditions in RK

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an independent, nonpartisan organisation is concerned about the situation around mass media in Kazakhstan. Ann Cooper, CPJ Executive Director, has sent a letter to Nursultan Nazarbayev, president of Kazakhstan, in which she expresses concern about "deteriorating press freedom conditions in Kazakhstan", "including the politicized legal prosecution of independent journalists." KZ-today has learned it from a report by the US state department.

The CPJ Executive Director quotes the case of Vladimir Mikhailov, director of Aktobe weekly Diapazon, sentenced to one year in prison on 17 March, 2004, for failing to comply with a court. A. Cooper writes that "Diapazon, which has the largest circulation in Aktobe, has annoyed city administrators, the Prosecutor General's office, and local judges for years with its critical reporting.

A. Cooper quotes the president of media foundation Adil Soz Tamara Kaleyeva, who believes that the latest harassment of Mikhailov and Diapazon, is "a part of a government trend to silence opposition independent media in the run-up to parliamentary elections scheduled for this fall."

The CPJ Executive Director calls the president of Kazakhstan "to do everything" to "ensure that local and national officials tolerate public scrutiny and criticism in the media." "Journalists cannot fulfill their role of informing the public if they fear official reprisals," - A. Cooper observes.

In her view, "Taking these steps would be a positive step toward embracing democracy in Kazakhstan, especially since" the government has "recently expressed interest in playing a leading role in promoting human rights in former Soviet republics as chair of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe in 2009."