In response to the events of yesterday in Kazakhstan, the Director of the International Press Institute (IPI), Johann P. Fritz, has issued a further statement about the silencing of the KTK and Karavan media organisations.

“It now seems that the enforced closures of the media organisations were motivated by the desire of the authorities to prevent these media organisations from commenting on an ongoing investigation into events at a bank,” said Fritz.

“However, the Kazakh media must be free to comment on such events. Rather than forcing journalists to remain in their offices and searching their homes, the Kazakhstan authorities should actively encourage an independent media.”

“An independent media and the willingness of a government to allow media freedom is a true test of a democracy. At present, the Kazakh government is failing this test. It should reverse its course immediately by allowing KTK and Karavan to renew their operations,” added Fritz.