CPJ, partners urge Kazakhstan’s president to act over wave of journalist arrests

In a joint letter led by the Committee to Protect Journalists, six international press freedom and human rights organizations have written to Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev expressing concern over a series of journalist detentions and growing pressure on the media.

Since December, four prominent journalists have been placed under house arrest pending trial on criminal charges — three of them on allegations of disseminating “false information.”

The letter, sent on April 13, calls on President Tokayev to ensure the release of all journalists detained over their work and to initiate the decriminalization of Article 274 of Kazakhstan’s criminal code on the “knowing distribution of false information,” which rights groups have repeatedly denounced as overly broad and susceptible to abuse. The letter also highlights a rising tide of other forms of harassment of the press, including cyberattacks, orchestrated takedowns of social media accounts, and the weaponization of new media accreditation rules.

Read the full letter in English and Russian.