CPJ calls on authorities to arrest organizers of attacks on independent journalists in Kazakhstan

Stockholm, February 23, 2023 – Kazakh authorities must thoroughly investigate a fresh wave of attacks on independent journalists and ensure that all involved are held to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday.

In at least four incidents since February 5, journalists and their family members in various cities across Kazakhstan have faced attacks and harassment, in a continued pattern of incidents targeting independent and critical journalists since the fall of 2022.

Kazakh police said in a February 21 statement that they had detained 18 individuals accused of carrying out attacks on six journalists and bloggers, as well as one associated individual, since September. The statement did not mention any individuals who may have ordered those attacks. 

On February 23, Marat Kozhayev, the deputy minister of Internal Affairs, told reporters that “practically all” perpetrators of recent attacks on journalists have been arrested but that it’s “too early to talk” about orders and incentives for the attacks.

“Although the arrest of 18 suspects accused of perpetrating attacks on the press in Kazakhstan is encouraging, the very fact that these attacks are continuing underscores the urgent need to apprehend—and prosecute—those who are organizing and ordering them,” said Carlos Martinez de la Serna, CPJ’s program director, in New York. “Kazakh authorities should know that their reputation is on the line should they fail to conduct a full and convincing investigation into all recent crimes against journalists.”

The four attacks since February 5 were: 

• On the evening of February 5, an unidentified man pointed a gun at Adi Zhilakauskas, the son of independent journalist Dinara Yegeubayeva, outside his home until he ran away, according to news reports and local free speech organization Adil Soz. Zhilakauskas was not harmed in the attack. Yegeubayeva, a political activist and parliamentary candidate, told reporters she believes the attack is related to her political activity and journalistic posts on Instagram and YouTube, where she has a combined 94,000 followers and covered allegations of rights abuses of authorities during the 2022 mass protests in Kazakhstan. Yegeubayeva was targeted on January 13, when her car was set on fire, and previously reported having her car vandalized and receiving bomb threats.

• On February 8, unidentified individuals sent a box containing offal and family photos of Samal Ibrayeva, the chief editor of independent news website Ulysmedia, and her children to the outlet’s offices in the capital, Astana, according to local news reports and Adil Soz. Last month, hackers infiltrated Ulysmedia’s website and uploaded Ibrayeva and her family’s data online, and she received online threats from unidentified users. Ulysmedia’s website has been subjected to distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks since July 2022.

• In the early hours of February 20, an unidentified person set fire to two cars belonging to Roman Yegorov, a camera operator for independent journalist Vadim Boreiko’s YouTube channel Giperborei, according to news reports and Facebook posts by Boreiko, who told CPJ by messaging app that police have arrested one suspect over the attack. Giperborei covered topics including the 2022 protests and upcoming parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan and has about 250,000 subscribers. Previously, on January 19, attackers injected construction foam around the door of Boreiko’s apartment in Almaty and graffitied the name of his YouTube channel.

• On the morning of February 22, an unidentified man wearing a surgical mask jumped out at freelance journalist Daniyar Moldabekov as he climbed the stairwell of his apartment building in Almaty, punched him in the face, and shouted, “Don’t f— around!,” according to media reports and Facebook posts by the journalist, which said that he was knocked to the ground and sustained a bruised cheek. Moldabekov told CPJ by messaging app that he “has no doubt” that the attack is linked to his work, as he has frequently written about the 2022 protests for various outlets and is expected to publish a book on the topic. On February 15, he published an article on crypto-mining operations allegedly linked to former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Boreiko told CPJ that the assault on Moldabekov on February 22, the day after the police statement, demonstrated the “sense of impunity” of those behind the attacks. He said he believed law enforcement agencies’ apparent failure to identify those ordering the attacks is a sign they are not truly interested in solving the cases.

CPJ’s email to the Ministry of Internal Affairs did not receive a reply.