Around midnight on 7 August an archivist and reporter for several opposition newspapers Ularbek Baitailak has been severely beaten by unknown assailants in Astana.

Baitailak, who is a Kazakh National Archive employee, has contributed articles to the Dat weekly, the Chetvyortaya vlast (Fourth Estate) newspaper, and the Altyn Tamyr magazine, all of which are close to the opposition.

His articles are often highly critical of the authorities, in particular by making historical comparisons to point out the authoritarianism of the present government.

Baitailak was attacked near his home in the suburbs of the Kazakh capital Astana. According to Reporters Without Borders, four men approached him from behind and hit him violently on the head. As he was getting up, he was shot at close range, probably by an air pistol, and then kicked.

He tried to resist but lost consciousness and his attackers left him for dead at the edge of the road after covering his body with stones as a symbolic burial. They stole his suit, the documents he was carrying and his cell phone, as well as 50,000 tenge (approx. EUR 270) in cash.

Baitailak was taken the next day to the trauma and orthopaedic centre in Astana where doctors said he had suffered a severe head injury, a deep chest wound, a split lip and several broken teeth.

Further tests are being carried out to determine the extent of any internal injuries. He also suffered widespread bruising all over his body. His is unable to move around without help and will have to spend at least a month in hospital.

Reporters Without Borders say that despite the theft of his personal possessions, Ularbek Baitailak’s profile and the method used by his attackers indicate the reasons behind the attack were work-related and political.

Kazakhstan requests extradition of human rights activist

This week Kazakhstan has officially requested Kyrgyzstan’s Prosecutor General’s Office the extradition of a Kazakh human rights activist Aleksandr Osadchenko.

He is wanted in Kazakhstan on attempted fraud charges, and was detained in Bishkek in June by Kazakh security officers and Kyrgyz law enforcement officers, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reports.

According to Osadchenko’s lawyers, the Kazakh authorities are persecuting the rights activist for speaking up on the situation in Kazakhstan’s restive western oil town of Zhanaozen, where police shot dead at least 16 people last December.

Officials at Kyrgyzstan’s Migration Department told RFE/RL on 8 August that Osadchenko had asked for political asylum in Kyrgyzstan two days earlier.

His possible extradition to Kazakhstan can be decided on only after a court decision on his asylum request is made.

Conditions deteriorating
It is extremely worrying that opposition, independent journalists and human rights activists are often targeted by unknown attackers in Kazakhstan. Working as an independent news source in this country has become more dangerous than ever.

The deterioration in conditions for independent and opposition journalists in Kazakhstan has reached a critical point as the frequency and seriousness of attacks has been growing month by month.

The tensions in the country that have outburst in December 2011 in Zhanaozen, an oil-rich town in the Western Kazakhstan, are continuing. The brave journalists who dare to tell the truth and investigate the events in Zhanaozen are being threatened, fined and prosecuted on false accusations including propagating terrorism, wanting to destabilise the country’s constitutional structure and stimulate chaos in the country.

Reporters Without Borders ranked Kazakhstan 154th out of 179 countries in their 2011-2012 Press Freedom Index.

Journalist rewarded for his courage

On 8 August the Almaty-based independent media rights organisation Adil Soz announced that Lukpan Akhmedyarov, a correspondent for the Uralskaya Nedelya weekly in the western city of Uralsk, has won the Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism.

He will be awarded the prize at a ceremony at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on 12 October 2012.

Lukpan Akhmedyarov, below, 36, is well-known for his investigative coverage of corruption and human rights abuses as well as his criticism of the current regime. He has been the target of threats and harassment by the police.

On 19 April 2012, Akhmedyarov was attacked by unknown assailants in the city of Uralsk.

As a result, Akhmedyarov was hospitalised for a month. He later was found guilty of insulting a local official in West Kazakhstan and ordered to pay the official 5 million tenges ($33,000).

Human Rights House has paid much attention to this case. Please find more information here and here.

Akhmedyarov – winner of Peter Mackler Award

Camille Mackler, Project Director for the Peter Mackler Award, said that “Mr. Akhmedyarov has shown enormous courage in reporting on corruption in an authoritarian regime. That he continues to do so, after almost paying with his life for his commitment to journalistic integrity, makes us proud to name him this year’s winner of the Peter Mackler Award”.

The award honors reporters and editors who have demonstrated a commitment to fairness in the story well told, and a matching commitment to defending the right to publish and air that story in countries who repress independent media.

The award is given by the Global Media Forum Training Group, a nonprofit organisation dedicated to journalism training, and the U.S. branch of the press-freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders. You can find out more about the award here.

“Through Lukpan Akhmedyarov, we pay homage to the courage of all who continue to work independently to cover the news in Kazakhstan. Working as an independent news source in this country has never been easy. Over the past twelve months, it has become more dangerous than ever. Lukpan’s courage and dedication command respect”, said Christophe Deloire, Reporters Without Borders Director.

Related articles:

Kazakhstan: Prominent journalist stabbed and shot in suspicious circumstances

Azerbaijani and Kazakh journalists brutally attacked

Kazakhstan: Independent investigation must be carried out

Norwegian Helsinki committee: conflicts in Kazakhstan should be resolved peacefully

Kazakhstan: Two decades of independence have no benefited free speach

Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan: worrying trends in 2012