Azattyq: Kazakh Foreign Ministry Continues to Deny Accreditation to Journalists

The latest round of legal battles between Radio Azattyq, the Kazakh branch of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), and the Kazakh Foreign Ministry over journalists’ right to work has once again ended in a defeat for media freedom, Orda.kz reports.

The Court Reshuffles the Cards

In early 2025, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry repeatedly denied accreditation to Radio Azattyq journalists —  first to a group of seven, then to another nine. The grounds for denial were alleged violations of the new law “On Mass Media,” which prohibits foreign media outlets and journalists from operating in Kazakhstan without accreditation.

RFE representatives appealed to the court to challenge the denials. Following the chronology, they first filed a lawsuit concerning seven employees, then expanded it to include nine more.

As the plaintiffs’ lawyer Liliya Chausova explained, in August the court dismissed the first lawsuit challenging the denial of accreditation for the seven journalists.

The second lawsuit was filed as an extension of the first; we added nine journalists. But then Judge Kairat Smagulov of the Astana Administrative Court separated the two cases and ruled that the lawsuit concerning the nine journalists should be considered separately,
 said Chausova.

RFE representatives complied with the court’s decision and attended the trial for the second lawsuit.

But the Ministry of Foreign Affairs filed a counter-motion specifically against the nine journalists, requesting a stay of proceedings.

Judge Sholpankulova ruled on the Foreign Ministry’s motion to suspend the case because the decision in the first case (concerning seven journalists) had not yet entered into legal force. She claimed this was preventing further proceedings, and therefore it was impossible to resolve the dispute over nine journalists until that decision became final. The contradiction is that the first judge said these two cases should not be heard together because they were unrelated. Now another judge is making the opposite argument, saying one case influences the other,  the lawyer added.

Even to a legal layperson, the case appears to be a web of artificially constructed circumstances.

First, the court upheld the Foreign Ministry’s denial of accreditation, effectively treating Kazakh citizens as foreigners because they work for a foreign media outlet. Then the cases were separated, only to be reconnected, with judges arguing that one influenced the other.

From the outside, this looks like an attempt to make life as difficult as possible for Azattyq journalists and prevent them from doing their jobs.

A Long Ladder of Legal Proceedings

The effort to push RFE out of the Kazakh and other media markets has been ongoing for years.

Authorities in other post-Soviet countries have also tried to restrict Radio Liberty’s operations.

In Kyrgyzstan in 2022, the Ministry of Culture attempted to shut down RFE’s local editorial office, Azattyq Media, through the courts, but ultimately reached a settlement.

In Uzbekistan, RFE’s affiliate, Radio Ozodlik, remains blocked, and in Belarus, all of Radio Liberty’s social media accounts have been declared extremist.

In Kazakhstan, Azattyq had periodically faced difficulties, but government interference was mostly slow-moving. The situation escalated in 2023, when RFE representatives formally applied to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to renew their staff’s accreditation.

Azattyq representatives applied for accreditation, sending requests by email, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs simply did not respond to their emails, said Chausova.

RFE lawyers then filed a lawsuit and eventually reached a settlement, with the Foreign Ministry agreeing to consider Azattyq’s requests for accreditation.

But the victory for press freedom was short-lived. The new 2024 mass media law — criticized by experts — enabled a clampdown on publications that dared to report boldly.

More court cases followed, with experts defending freedom of speech. Another settlement was reached. The Foreign Ministry granted accreditation, only to deny it again in August.

Now, according to Chausova, an appeal against the first court ruling concerning the seven journalists has already been prepared. An appeal against the judge’s ruling to suspend consideration of the second lawsuit involving the nine journalists is also in preparation.

And Azattyq employees remain unable to carry out their journalistic work properly.

Orda.kz continues to monitor developments.

Original Author: Anastasia Prilepskaya