Statement
Kazakhstan: New year, new attacks on free expression
ARTICLE 19
02 Feb 2012
ARTICLE 19 is concerned that the politically-motivated arrest of an editor-in-chief, the surveillance of internet users and the banning of journalists from certain activities do not bode well for freedom of expression in 2012 in Kazakhstan – a country where the right to freedom of expression is already severely restricted.
ARTICLE 19 calls on the Kazakh authorities to refrain from using the context of the violence in December in Zhanaozen to silence its critics and to reverse the introduction of measures that curtail the free flow of information.
Politically motivated arrest of editor-in-chief of the newspaper Vzglyad
Igor Vinyavskiy, the editor-in-chief of one of the last remaining independent national newspapers, the weekly Vzglyad, has a long-standing position as a critical opponent of the current Kazakh government. He was detained on 23 January by the KNB (the Kazakh National Security Committee) in Almaty. His home and the offices of Vzglyad were searched that same day and all equipment along with safes, and documents, including journalists’ notebooks were confiscated.
On 26 January 2012, a scan of the KNB investigator’s charges was disseminated via the internet, which reportedly served as the basis for initiating the criminal case against Igor Vinyavskiy. The document, dated 23 January, states that on 23 April 2010, 3,892 leaflets with the text ‘Kyrgyzstan got rid of the thieving Bakiev family. Let’s not tolerate any more, put [them] in the garbage’ were confiscated. Next to the last line a picture of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan is placed. The scanned document further mentions that a psycho-linguistic analysis dated 16 May 2010 concluded that the text of the leaflet contains evidence of a call to violently overthrow the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
According to the document an initial investigation established that Igor Vinyavskiy ‘having set up an organised group, issued and disseminated leaflets that contained public calls for the violent capture of power, violent retention of power, undermining of state security and violent change of constitutional order … as well as disseminating these materials for this purpose among the population of Almaty.’
Igor Vinyavskiy denies the charges brought against him and disputes his alleged involvement in writing, publishing or distributing the leaflet, or in as setting up the organised group. He considers the charges brought against him to be groundless, linked to his professional activities and an attempt to stop the publication of Vzglyad.
In a closed hearing on 26 January which took place in the KNB’s pre-trial detention facility in Almaty, Igor Vinyavskiy was charged with the crime of ‘calling for the violent overthrow or change to the constitutional order, or the violent violation of the integrity of Kazakhstan, through the use of the media or an organised group’ under Article 170 (2) of the Kazakh Criminal Code. If convicted he faces up to seven years imprisonment. No official information has been made public about the content of the leaflet. However, on 27 January the KNB’s press service website included information about the arrest of Igor Vinyavskiy as part of the criminal investigation into incitement of social hatred in connection with the 16 December 2011 events in Zhanaozen.
Local and international observers have expressed their fear that Igor Vinyavskiy’s arrest is part of a trend to silence those critical of the government, in particular in relation to the violence in Zhanaozen. Following a press conference about his arrest, a second journalist, Oksana Makushina, the deputy editor for the newspaper Golos respubliki, Sergey Utkin lawyer for Golos respubliki, and Igor Vinyavskiy’s wife Lana Vinyavskaya were called in for questioning for several hours by the KNB on 1 February to ascertain where they obtained the leaflet they were showing at the press conference. This was followed by searches in the offices of Golos respubliki on 2 February, where the KNB confiscated several computers and other equipment. Oksana Makushina, Sergey Utkin and Lana Vinyavskaya face the possibility of being incriminated for "disclosing" the leaflet which served as the basis for charges against Vinyavskiy.
ARTICLE 19 considers the severity of the charges brought against Igor Vinyavskiy solely on the basis of his alleged involvement with the publication of an unverified leaflet, as excessive. Based on the current information available ARTICLE 19 believes that the charges against Igor Vinyavksiy are brought to persecute him for his legitimate professional activities as a journalist. . Therefore, ARTICLE 19 calls for his immediate release from detention and for dropping all the charges against him.
Culture of secrecy
The lack of transparency and openness surrounding the charges and the arrest of Igor Vinyavskiy are part of a culture of secrecy established by the Kazakh authorities. This culture was strengthened by the reported intention to introduce new parliamentary rules on 1 February. If introduced, only edited recordings would be made available to the media. Media would no longer be allowed to approach individual members of the Majilis for interviews; instead appointed speakers will be made available.
ARTICLE 19 is concerned that the introduction of such rules is a clear restriction on access to information and would remove any incentive for a genuine public debate, disempowering individual citizens to engage in and inform political decision-making processes. ARTICLE 19 has described information as ‘the oxygen of democracy’. The ability to follow legislative processes is key to transparency and accountability of parliament as a whole and its individual members.
Surveillance of internet users to control last free platform for expression
The internet currently remains the only relatively-free platform for people to discuss acute social and political problems in Kazakhstan. The government’s move to impose greater control on the internet dates back to 2009, when the Internet Law was adopted, equating all websites with mass media, according them the same responsibility and regulations. On 30 December 2011, the Kazakh government adopted further rules on the regulation of the provision of internet services. Internet cafes in Kazakhstan, who were already being equipped with video cameras, now require anyone wishing to use a public computer to provide identification. The amount of time a computer is used will be documented, as well as the websites visited. This information will have to be held for at least six months and should be provided to investigative government agencies upon their request.
ARTICLE 19 is concerned that as a result of the new rules, it is likely the internet will become one of the numerous instruments used by the Kazakh authorities to control public opinion in a similar way it controls traditional media outlets. Such surveillance of individual internet users is unnecessary in a democratic society.
ARTICLE 19 calls on the Kazakh authorities to refrain from using the context of the violence in December in Zhanaozen to silence its critics and to reverse the introduction of measures that curtail the free flow of information. As a state party to the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights the Republic of Kazakhstan has legally binding obligations to protect and promote the right to freedom of expression and access to information.
