The OSCE representative on freedom of the media, Harlem Desir, has welcomed a May 6 decision by the lower house of Kazakhstan’s parliament to decriminalize defamation, calling it an “important step forward.” In a statement on May 7, Desir urged the Kazakh authorities to “move further and repeal” a number of articles in the Criminal […]
Election Of New Kazakh Parliamentary Speaker Sparks Talk Of Power Struggle
NUR-SULTAN — The former deputy chief of the Kazakh presidential administration, Maulen Ashimbaev, has replaced as parliamentary speaker, Dariga Nazarbaeva, the daughter of former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev, in a sign of a possible power struggle at the top of the country’s leadership. Presidential spokesman Berik Uali wrote on Facebook on May 4 that members […]
Kazakh President Dismisses Nazarbaev’s Daughter As Speaker Of Parliament
Dariga Nazarbaeva, the daughter of former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev, has been dismissed from her post as speaker of the upper house of parliament. The move, which removes Nazarbaeva from a position that put her second in line to the head of state, was announced on May 2 by the office of President Qasym-Zormart Toqaev, […]
Rights Defenders Accuse Kazakh Authorities Of Using Coronavirus Restrictions To Stifle Dissent
ALMATY, Kazakhstan — Rights defenders in Kazakhstan say the government is using restrictions imposed to slow the coronavirus outbreak to crack down on dissent. Several leading civil and human rights activists in the Central Asian nation were arrested over the weekend on charges of distributing fake news about the pandemic. Almaty-based human rights activist Marzhan […]
Kazakh Opposition Activist Detained For ‘Spreading False Information’
A leading Kazakh political activist and government critic has been detained by police in connection with allegedly spreading “false information” during a state of emergency.A police statement issued on April 18 said Arman Shuraev had used social networks to “repeatedly spread knowingly false information,” although it offered no details.The former television executive turned nationalist politician […]
U.S.-Russian Crew Lands Safely In Kazakhstan After More Than 200 Days In Space
Three members of the U.S.-Russian crew have returned to Earth after spending several months at the International Space Station (ISS). Russia’s Roskosmos space agency said the Soyuz MS-15 capsule carrying the crew chief, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka, and NASA Flight Engineers Jessica Meir and Andrew Morgan landed safely on April 17 in Kazakhstan. Skripochka and […]
RFE/RL Chief Welcomes Almaty Court Ruling Over Police Inaction Over Attack On RFE/RL Reporters
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has welcomed a Kazakh court ruling that an investigation should continue into the failure of police to act against individuals who attacked the broadcaster’s reporters and hindered their professional activities. The Almaty City Investigation Court on April 15 agreed with a lawsuit filed by Aiman Omarova, a lawyer for RFE/RL, against […]
Almaty Court Says Police Inaction On Attacks Against RFE/RL Reporters Was Illegal
ALMATY, Kazakhstan — A Kazakh court has ruled that an investigation should continue into the failure of police to act against individuals who attacked RFE/RL reporters and hindered their professional activities.The Almaty City Investigation Court on April 15 agreed with a lawsuit filed by Aiman Omarova, a lawyer for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, against police […]
Kazakh Activist In Psychiatric Clinic After ‘Attempting Suicide’ During Military Service
NUR-SULTAN — A Kazakh civil right activist who was drafted into the army ahead of last year’s presidential election has been placed in a psychiatric clinic after he attempted to commit suicide, his mother says. Alimzhan Izbasarov, 24, tried to kill himself after being a victim of hazing and pressure by officers and other conscripts […]
Kazakhstan Protests Over Chinese Article Questioning Its Territorial Integrity
NUR-SULTAN — Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry has officially protested an article published on a Chinese website that questioned Kazakhstan’s territorial integrity. The ministry said on April 14 that it “held talks with the Chinese ambassador to Kazakhstan, Zhang Xiao, during which the ministry protested against the publication of an article on the website sohu.com in China […]
London Court Dismisses Attempt To Seize Properties Linked To Nazarbaev Family
A British court has dismissed an attempt by the country’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to seize a luxurious London mansion and two other properties linked to the family of former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev. The properties, owned by companies based in tax havens, have been subject to unexplained wealth orders (UWOs) since May 2019. Under […]
Kazakh Authorities Detain 25 Over Deadly Ethnic Clashes In February
NUR-SULTAN — Kazakh authorities say they have detained 25 people during a police operation connected to February’s deadly ethnic clashes in the southern region of Zhambyl. Deputy Prosecutor-General Yerlik Kenebaev charged on March 27 that the detainees “took an active part ” in the violence that claimed 11 lives. Kenebaev said the 25 included ethnic […]
Kazakh Security Officials Arrest Man They Say Was Plotting ‘Terrorist’ Attack
The National Security Committee for Kazakhstan says it has arrested a man suspected of plotting a terrorist act in Nur-Sultan, the capital of the Central Asian nation.”The man is suspected of plotting a terrorist attack in the capital under the influence of the ideology of the international terrorist organization Daesh,” the committee said in a […]
Former Uranium Tycoon Dzhakishev Released From Kazakh Prison
Former Kazakh state nuclear company head Mukhtar Dzhakishev, whose conviction on corruption charges in 2010 was criticized by many as politically motivated, has been released from prison.Dzhakishev on March 19 left the prison in the northeastern city of Semei after a Kazakh court on March 3 granted him an early release. The court ruled that […]