Shymkent Journalist Reports Pressure After Covering Water Utility Transition

Independent journalist Moldir Nurman, who has reported on water supply issues in Shymkent, says she is facing renewed pressure as a criminal case against her has been reopened, Orda.kz reports.

The case relates to Nurman’s reporting on the company Su Resurstary – Marketing, which had managed the city’s drinking water supply for three decades. Following a leadership change in the city administration, control of the company was transferred to municipal ownership.

Nurman questioned the transparency of the transition and conducted her own investigation.

The journalist had previously been under investigation, but the case was closed. Authorities have now reopened it, citing a philological examination. Nurman later recorded a video message addressed to the President of Kazakhstan.

I raised this issue. I am not an expert who studies the water industry throughout the country. I am a journalist. But since the experts are silent, we are forced to speak. The case was previously closed. And now a police officer has come and said: 'We found something in the philological examination, you must apologize,'
she said. 

Nurman also claims that authorities have taken issue with her social media activity. After criticizing local officials online, she says she began receiving warnings.

Whenever I comment on something on TikTok, they say, 'We told you to behave calmly.' Is it wrong to criticize institutions that work with the people's money? Why is no one checking the work that 40 billion tenge was allocated for? Something happens every day. A six-year-old child affixiated in a hole. The road in Tassay is collapsing. Yesterday, mothers of many children and widows couldn't even get into the Akimat. The Akim didn't bother to come out to them,
 she said.

Nurman also pointed to poor road conditions and the rise in traffic accidents, some involving children. She argues that local authorities are responsible and claims that those who raise concerns are added to a “black list.”

We are the golden bridge between the people and the government. There is a law on public control. We have the right to monitor the work of government agencies and ask questions of the executive branch,
she added. 

Moldir Nurman has worked for several television channels, including Shymkent, Taraz, and Kazakhstan. She is currently facing a criminal case under Article 274 of the Criminal Code of Kazakhstan, which covers the dissemination of knowingly false information.

Original Author: Zarina Fayzulina