Ensure Fair Appeal for Daniyar Adilbekov - Human Rights Watch

Senior Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch Mikhra Rittman has urged Kazakhstan's authorities to ensure a fair appeal for the author of "Dikaya Orda," Daniyar Adilbekov, Orda reports. 

She also noted the need to revise the legislation to guarantee all-encompassing freedom of speech. 

 HRW released a statement saying:

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.

Daniyar Adilbekov is currently in custody. The case will be heard in the appellate court in the coming weeks.

Imprisonment is an inappropriate and disproportionate punishment for reputational harm and is inconsistent with Kazakhstan’s international obligations.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, said Mihra Rittmann 

Gulmira Birzhanova, legal director of the Legal Media Center, told Human Rights Watch that this is the first time a journalist has been convicted in Kazakhstan for “deliberately making a false report.”

She said that if Adilbekov’s conviction stands, it could impact journalists, discouraging investigative journalism and reporting on alleged corruption. 

Offenses related to disseminating false and defamatory information are no longer in the Criminal Code but are in the Administrative Code. However, Kazakhstan's court system still applies strict criminal sanctions for statements and disseminating information that has reputational significance.

On October 29, the Legal Media Center published an open letter from journalists and media workers in Kazakhstan to President Qasym-Jomart Toqayev calling for the release of Daniyar Adilbekov.

The letter states that imprisonment for the journalist is “a disproportionate punishment for crimes that do not pose a public danger.”

Human Rights Watch stressed that sentences like those handed down to Daniyar Adilbekov contradict the principles of respect for freedom of expression.

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,
 Human Rights Watch noted.

The organization noted that Kazakhstan's partners should call on the authorities to release Daniyar Adilbekov and take urgent measures to protect freedom of expression.

The European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, and other partners with diplomatic missions in Astana stand to 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. Adilbekov deserves a fair appeal and should not have to spend another day in prison, said Mihra Rittman.

The case against Daniyar Adilbekov was opened in March 2024.

Three people filed complaints against Adilbekov: journalist Gulzhan Yergaliyeva, investor and airport director Yusuf Rashed Aljauder, and Vice Minister of Energy Yerlan Akkenzhenov.

Adilbekov's posts in "Dikaya Orda" were the reason.

In his posts, Adilbekov claimed Gulzhan Yergaliyeva accepted payment for an interview with Kuandyk Bishimbayev's lawyers, and Yusuf Rashed Aljauder illegally gave instructions bypassing the capital airport's management.

One complaint concerned Adilbekov's false denunciation of a corruption crime against the Vice Minister of Energy, Yerlan Akkenzhenov.

Adilbekov wrote that Akkenzheno allegedly had connections with Karim Massimov's former in-law, Azamat Kapenov.

Adilbekov also described an alleged corruption scheme in Kazakhstan's oil distribution. Yerlan Saudegerov, an oil trader who was a source of information for Adilbekov, was also detained.

Later, Vice Minister Akkenzhenov stated that everything written about him was untrue.

On October 18, the court sentenced Daniyar Adilbekov to four years and six months. 

Original Author: Anastasia Prilepskaya