Kazakhstan

President Nazarbayev has introduced increasingly severe restrictions on freedom of expression. The work of civil society is obstructed by legislation passed in 2016 to regulate foreign funding received by NGOs. The government’s plans to pass a new media law threatens to further limit independent media. Critical journalists and human rights defenders face trumped-up criminal charges and groundless defamation cases. State surveillance of online communications is pervasive and several social media users have been imprisoned on dubious ‘incitement’ charges. Freedom of assembly is also heavily restricted. Following peaceful demonstrations against land reform in 2016, protest leaders received lengthy jail sentences. Violence and hate speech against LGBT people are prevalent among politicians, the media and society.

ARTICLE 19  works to build resilience of independent journalists, civil society and activists in Kazakhstan to the range of risks they face. We support local lawyers to defend expression related cases through international human rights mechanisms and organise trainings and protection programmes for independent media outlets. Working with local partners, we engage on legislative reform: challenging proposals to introduce new restrictions. We also work to increase participation of LGBT activists in broader civil society initiatives, through capacity building and increasing activists’ abilities to protect themselves when speaking out and challenging hate speech.

Kazakhstan: Full justice for late activist and blogger Aidos Sadykov
03.07.2024 4 min read

Kazakhstan: Full justice for late activist and blogger Aidos Sadykov

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Russia, Belarus and Central Asia: Stop the misuse of anti-terrorism and extremism laws
09.01.2024 3 min read

Russia, Belarus and Central Asia: Stop the misuse of anti-terrorism and extremism laws

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Central Asia: Scrap abusive legislation and protect free speech online
08.06.2023 7 min read

Central Asia: Scrap abusive legislation and protect free speech online

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Central Asia: Freedom of expression online
21.12.2022 1 min read

Central Asia: Freedom of expression online

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UK: Drop legal threats against media outlets reporting in public interest
05.10.2022 3 min read

UK: Drop legal threats against media outlets reporting in public interest

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Kazakhstan: Report on the right to freedom of expression  and ‘extremism’ restrictions
29.03.2021 10 min read

Kazakhstan: Report on the right to freedom of expression and ‘extremism’ restrictions

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Kazakhstan: Legal reforms essential to protect expression   
07.04.2020 4 min read

Kazakhstan: Legal reforms essential to protect expression  

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09.03.2020 2 min read

Supporting media reform in Kazakhstan

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HRC43: Oral statement during the Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Counter Terrorism and Human Rights
05.03.2020 3 min read

HRC43: Oral statement during the Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Counter Terrorism and Human Rights

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