Voice of Democracy
Published by Kazakhstan 21st Century Foundation · Washington, D.C. Mar. 7, 2002

The 2001 State Department Report on Human Rights Practices released this week paints a highly critical portrait of Kazakhstan as a place where:

1. An autocratic president "dominate[s] the legislature and judiciary, as well as regional and local governments [and] changes or amendments to the Constitution are nearly impossible without the President's consent."

2. "The Government's human rights record was poor" and security forces "committed human rights abuses."

3. "Corruption is evident at every stage and level of the judicial process."

4. "The Government harassed and monitored independent and opposition media, and as a consequence, many journalists practiced self-censorship. "

5. "The Government imposes some restrictions on freedom of assembly and imposes restrictions on freedom of association. "

6. "Violence against women, including domestic violence, was a problem" as was "Trafficking in women was a serious problem [because] Kazakhstan is a country of origin and transit for trafficking."

7. "The Government infringed on citizens' privacy rights."

8. Threats of prosecution for "insulting" the president and his family meant "Most newspapers did not present the ongoing story, widely reported in the western press, about alleged foreign investigations into possible illicit payments by a foreign businessman to President Nazarbayev and two former Prime Ministers."

9. Human rights activists assert "libel lawsuits are used to close down opposition media outlets or to silence opposition figures."

10. "Most large media outlets... [including] all [45 'independent' radio and television stations] broadcast transmission facilities...are controlled by members of the president's family and close circle of friends."

11. Human rights activists and international observers report "the Government monitored their movements and telephone calls" and they "have received threatening or harassing telephone calls" from unidentified callers.

Here are some of the details taken directly from the report. You can read the entire document at http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/eur/8275.htm

• "The Government's human rights record was poor; although there were significant improvements in a few areas, serious problems remained. The Government severely limits citizens' right to change their government and democratic institutions remained weak. ... The Government continued to use arbitrary arrest and detention, and prolonged detention was a problem. The judiciary remained under the control of the President and the executive branch, and corruption in the judiciary remained deeply rooted. The Government infringed on citizens' privacy rights.

• "There were instances when the Government harassed and monitored independent and opposition media, and as a consequence, many journalists practiced self-censorship. In April the Parliament approved amendments to the media law that expand the liability of media outlets, treat Web sites as media outlets and limit direct rebroadcast of foreign media. The Government imposes some restrictions on freedom of assembly and imposes restrictions on freedom of association. At times the Government harassed those whom it regarded as religious extremists."

• "Violence against women, including domestic violence was a serious problem. There was discrimination against women, persons with disabilities, and ethnic minorities. The Government discriminated in favor of ethnic Kazakhs."

• " The Government limited worker rights; it tried to limit the influence of independent trade unions, both directly and through its support for state-sponsored unions, and members of independent trade unions were harassed."

• "Trafficking in women and children, primarily teenage girls, was a problem and local nongovernmental organizations (NGO's) accused some customs and border officials of complicity in trafficking."

• "Harsh prison conditions led to the deaths of some persons in custody, many from disease....[P]olice tortured, in the form of beatings, and otherwise abused detainees, often in order to obtain confessions. Law enforcement officers participating in a government conference on pretrial detention facilities noted that beatings by officials were common in such facilities. Prison officials beat and mistreated prisoners."

• "Law enforcement officials ...stated that cases of violation of detainees' rights and illegal detentions were common. Law enforcement officials stated that approximately one third of all detainees may have been detained illegally....human rights monitors alleged that law enforcement officials have pressured prisoners to use certain attorneys or to refuse the assistance of an attorney, at times resulting in a delay before the accused sees a lawyer. Detainees also may appeal the legality of detention or arrest to the Prosecutor before trial; however, in practice most persons refrain from making an appeal due to fear of reprisal for doing so."

• "Corruption is evident at every stage and level of the judicial process. Lawyers and human rights monitors alleged that judges, prosecutors, and other officials solicit bribes in exchange for favorable rulings in nearly all criminal cases."

• "On September 6, former prime minister Akezhan Kazhegeldin was tried, convicted, and sentenced in absentia on corruption-related charges ....international human rights organizations and local monitors ... stated that the procedures followed in the case were not in line with international commitments. On September 7, the OSCE noted in a press release that 'the principle of equal rights of both sides involved may have been jeopardized because the trial was held in absentia...It was questionable whether the presumption of innocence was fully observed by mass media and government structures throughout the process.' The case against the former Prime Minister appeared to consist primarily of the statement of approximately 80 witnesses, the overwhelming majority of whom were government officials."

• "[T]he Government infringed on ... rights...to 'confidentiality of personal deposits and savings, correspondence, telephone conversations, postal, telegraph, and other messages.'"

• "The Constitution provides for peaceful assembly; however, the Government and the law impose significant restrictions on this right. The law on national security defines as a threat to national security 'unsanctioned gatherings, public meetings, marches, demonstrations, illegal picketing, and strikes' that upset social and political stability."

• "[S]ome religious groups have encountered difficulties registering in certain jurisdictions. These groups include Jehovah's Witnesses and some Protestant groups, as well as Muslim groups independent of the [officially sanctioned] Mufti....Local KNB officials disrupted some meetings in private homes of unregistered groups of Jehovah's Witnesses, Protestants, Adventists, Baptists, and other nontraditional groups throughout the country.

• Government critics often encounter harassment and travel restrictions. "On July 15, despite the receipt of exit visas, the authorities denied RNPK [Republican National Party of Kazakhstan] representatives Amirzhan Kosanov and Yermurat Bapi passage through passport control and confiscated their passports; the two were attempting to travel to attend a U.S. Congress House International Relations Committee hearing. The two opposition members claimed that airport authorities told them they were not allowed to leave 'by order of the KNB leadership.'"

• "[S]ome human rights observers reported that the Government monitored their movements and telephone calls ...[and that they] periodically have received threatening or harassing telephone calls; however, the source of these calls is unknown. "

• "Violence against women, including domestic violence, was a problem. ...Trafficking in women was a serious problem...There is no evidence of a pattern of official complicity with trafficking, although corruption of law enforcement officials is widespread...The Government does not run any trafficking prevention programs."

The report was particularly critical of Nazarbayev's treatment of the media and a new law he pushed through a pliant parliament to tighten restrictions on dissent.

• "[T]he Government harassed and monitored independent and opposition media, and as a consequence many journalists practiced self censorship.

• "[T]he Government takes advantage of the [new media] law's vague language to place restrictions on media content [in the name of] prohibit[ing] the mass media from 'undermining state security' or advocating 'class, social, race, national, or religious superiority' or 'a cult of cruelty and violence.' Under the law, owners, editors, distributors, and journalists may be held responsible for violations. ...The law also requires all media to register with the Government; all print and broadcast media are registered. The new media law defines Internet sites as media outlets and requires that they register."

• "Journalists and NGO's charged that the new amendments restrict free speech and limit access to information.... several NGO participants in an National Democratic Institute (NDI) and OSCE-supported campaign against media law amendments were harassed by local law enforcement, prosecutors, finance police, and tax police."

• "A libel provision of the new Media Law... holds owners, editors, distributors, and journalists responsible for content and promotes self-censorship at each level. At times fines for violating the libel law were exorbitant and bankrupted small media outlets....Human rights activists assert that sometimes libel lawsuits are used to close down opposition media outlets or to silence opposition figures."

• A case in point: "On April 3, the Zhetisu District court of Almaty found Yermurat Bapi, editor-in-chief of SolDat newspaper and a member of the executive committee of the RNPK, and journalist Karishal Asanov guilty of libel for two articles printed in SolDat in 2000, which addressed corruption and the role of President Nazarbayev in the December 1986 student uprisings in Almaty. Bapi was found guilty of insulting the honor and dignity of the President (a criminal offense) and sentenced to 1 year in prison...[and] forced to pay $275 (40,000 tenge) in court costs and the press run of SolDat in which the articles appeared was destroyed. Asanov was acquitted of charges. In May the oblast court denied Bapi's appeal."

• "Many media outlets considered to be independent are controlled by holding companies, whose controlling investors are not made public. NGO's alleged that most large media outlets are controlled by members of the president's family and close circle of friends through holding companies....The Government controls nearly all [45 'independent' radio and television stations] broadcast transmission facilities."

• "Clients of the two largest Internet providers, Kaztelecom and Nursat, periodically were blocked from direct access to the opposition Eurasia Web site...[and] were unwittingly [switched to] a 'mirror site'... that mimics the original, but without material highly critical of the Government."

• "[A]s is the case for journalists, academics cannot violate certain restrictions, such as criticizing the President and his family."

For the full stories, see the web citations above or contact us at News@Kazakhstan21.org. The Kazakhstan 21st Century Foundation promotes democracy and human rights in Kazakhstan through public affairs and educational programs in the United States and Europe. This material is distributed by Kazakhstan 21st Century Foundation. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.