The authorities in Kazakhstan should ensure a fair appeals process for an investigative journalist who has been sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison on criminal charges for allegedly disseminating false information, Human Rights Watch said today. The Kazakh authorities should revise such laws to ensure that no other journalists are jailed for exercising their right to free speech.
The Astana City Interdistrict Criminal Court on October 18, 2024, found the journalist, Daniyar Adilbekov, guilty of "disseminating knowingly false information" and making a "knowingly false denunciation" in connection with materials he published on the Telegram channel "Wild Horde." Adilbekov has been in custody since he was arrested in late March 2024. His appeal hearing in Astana could come up for review in the coming weeks.
"Imprisonment is an inappropriate and disproportionate punishment for reputational harm and is inconsistent with Kazakhstan's international obligations," said Mihra Rittmann, senior Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The Kazakh authorities should release Adilbekov, ensure that his appeal hearing is fair, and take steps to abolish criminal penalties for speech offenses that are limited to reputational harm."
Adilbekov, 35, was arrested on the basis of complaints made by Vice Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov; the Astana Airport board chairman, Yusuf Rashed M. Aljawder; and another journalist, Gulzhan Yergaliyeva.
Prosecutors alleged that Adilbekov, acting with the other defendant in the case, Yerlan Saudegerov, an entrepreneur who provides intermediary services in the oil and gas sector, made a "knowingly false denunciation" against Vice Minister Akkenzhenov in publishing two Telegram posts entitled "Akkenzhenov's Dirty Petrodollars" and "Who are you, Mr. Akkenzhenov?" alleging corruption in the oil industry and at the Energy Ministry.
Gulmira Birzhanova, legal director at the media rights organization Legal Media Center, told Human Rights Watch that this is the first time a journalist in Kazakhstan has been convicted of making a "knowingly false denunciation." If Adilbekov's conviction stands, she said, it could have a chilling effect on investigative journalism and reporting on alleged corruption.
While Kazakhstan removed the offense of defamation from its criminal code in June 2020, by preserving the criminal offenses of disseminating false information and making a false denunciation, Kazakhstan still has the option of using serious criminal sanctions for reputational speech offenses that are incompatible with respect for freedom of expression.
Prosecutors also accused Adilbekov of disseminating knowingly false information about Aljawder and Yergalieva in Telegram posts about the management of the Astana airport, in the case of Aljawder, and about reporting on the murder trial of the former Economy Minister Kuandyk Bishimbayev, who was convicted of killing his partner, Saltanat Nukenova, in the case of Yergaliyeva.
The first-instance court found that forensic psychological and philological examinations of the articles, as well as witness testimony, was "sufficient" to determine the defendants' guilt. Adilbekov rejected the charges, saying that the prosecution did not prove the information in the articles was false and that he and his lawyer had provided the court with evidence that the information in his articles came from open sources.
On October 29, journalists and media workers in Kazakhstan opened for signatures an online petition addressed to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev calling for Adilbekov's release. In it they say that Adilbekov's imprisonment is "a disproportionate punishment for offenses that do not pose a public danger." International media watchdogs have also called for his release.
Under international human rights law, governments have an obligation to respect and protect the right to freedom of expression, including the right to seek, receive, and impart information of all kinds. Governments may only impose restrictions on freedom of speech if those restrictions are provided by law and are strictly necessary and proportionate to achieve a legitimate aim, including the protection of national security, public order, public health or morals, or the rights of others.
The United Nations Human Rights Committee, the independent expert body that monitors compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, states in its general comment on freedom of expression that "imprisonment is never an appropriate penalty" for defamation.
Civil defamation laws are sufficient for the purpose of protecting people's reputations and can be written and applied in ways that provide appropriate protections for freedom of expression, Human Rights Watch said.
Kazakhstan's partners should urge the authorities to release Adilbekov and take immediate steps to uphold freedom of expression in Kazakhstan. The European Union, United States, United Kingdom, and other partners with diplomatic representation in Astana should send observers to Adilbekov's appeal hearing.
"Imprisonment is never an appropriate sentence for speech offenses and will have a chilling effect on independent journalism in Kazakhstan," Rittmann said. "Adilbekov deserves a fair appeal and should not have to spend another day in prison."
