HR Organizations Warn Kazakhstan’s Independent Journalism Faces Increasing Crackdown

HR Organizations Warn Kazakhstan’s Independent Journalism Faces Increasing Crackdown
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Authorities in Kazakhstan have intensified pressure on independent journalists and media outlets, according to a coalition of nine human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

According to Human Rights Organization’s website, the crackdown has involved police raids, detentions, spurious criminal charges, and interference with journalists’ online presence.

On 1 December, police searched the Almaty newsroom and homes of Orda.kz staff, detaining editor-in-chief Gulnara Bazhkenova on charges of “disseminating knowingly false information” and placing her under two months of house arrest. Other journalists, including Dmitry Kim, head of Orda.kz’s capital bureau, faced questioning and temporary detentions. Independent outlets have also experienced DDoS attacks, and journalists’ social media accounts were temporarily blocked or removed.

The crackdown follows public scrutiny over issues including military conscripts’ deaths and human rights advocacy. The Kazakhstan parliament is also advancing legislation restricting LGBTI rights, raising concerns of further suppression of free expression.

Rights groups have called on Kazakh authorities to halt harassment, withdraw discriminatory legislation, and protect journalists’ ability to report freely. They also urged social media platforms to resist state requests that restrict lawful expression, emphasizing the importance of media freedom and access to information as fundamental human rights.