18 Aug 11 | Index Index, minipost
Imprisoned journalist Ramazan Esergepov’s request for release on parole was rejected for the fourth time yesterday by an appeal commission in Taraz prison, southern Kazakhstan, although under Kazakh law a prisoner can be freed conditionally after serving a third of their sentence. The former owner and editor of the weekly Alma-Ata Info, he was sentenced to three years in prison on 8 August 2009 on a charge of gathering and publishing information that was considered a state secret. He was arrested on 6 January 2009 after publishing an article implicating the National Security Committee (KNB) in influence-trafficking.
15 Apr 10 | Digital Freedom, Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized
Opera has become Kazakhstan‘s most popular web browser in the country, because it allows users to bypass internet censorship. According to Web Analytics firm StatCounter, the browser increased its market share to 32 per cent in March. Last year, Kazakhstan introduced a law allowing local courts to block access to web sites whose content has been deemed “illegal”. The new edition of Opera introduced last year, Opera 10, allows users to view otherwise inaccessible web pages using its Opera Turbo feature designed to speed up browsing over slow connections.
12 Jan 10 | Index Index, minipost, News and features, Uncategorized
Three press freedom activists who organised a flash-mob protest in support of jailed Kazakh journalists have been put on trial. The group – which includes Raushan Esergepova, the wife of the jailed newspaper editor Ramazan Esergepov – are accused of holding an authorised demonstration, they have rejected the charges as politically motivated. Kazakhstan’s record on press freedom has come under increasing scrutiny as the country assumes the chair of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
26 Nov 09 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
Kazakhstan’s parliament passed a new privacy bill on 19 November which threatens the ability of journalists to carry out investigative work. The bill forbids the publication of information relating to private lives, including those of public persons. It also gives the authorities the power to shut down publications and imprison journalists who violate standards of privacy. The bill now only needs President Nazarbayev’s approval to be adopted as law. It is thought that the new bill may be in reaction to the publication of a series of wire-tapped conversations between Nazarbayev and his aides in 2007.
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