After last week’s controversial court decisions that prohibited any criticism of Mr.Kulibayev (picture on the right) and requested the confiscation of several opposition newspapers, the newspapers’ editors, staff and supporters have organised demonstrations and filed legal challenges over the decisions.
There was also a sharp criticism from Europe’s top security and rights body, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), whose media-freedom representative called the lawsuit a dangerous attempt at censorship.
OSCE response
The original court ruling appears to have embarrassed authorities in Kazakhstan, which in 2010 became the first former Soviet republic to chair the OSCE, Europe’s main democracy watchdog.
On February 8, the OSCE media-freedom representative Miklos Haraszti (picture on the rght) criticized what he called the "misuse" of libel laws to muzzle the press in Kazakhstan.
In a statement, M.Haraszti specifically mentioned the confiscation of the five newspapers. He described the lawsuits as "dangerous attempts at censorship" and said the harsh punishments sought endangered "the very existence of the few critical-minded media outlets" that remain in the country.
The chairman of Kazakhstan’s Supreme Court, Musabek Alimbekov, the same day told journalists that the Medeu district court judge "could have made a mistake in imposing the ban."
Related links:
