H. E. Nursultan Nazarbayev
President of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Office of the President
11 Mira Street
Astana 473000
Kazakhstan

Fax: +7 3172 323 073

Vienna, 17 March 2004

Your Excellency,

The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in over 120 countries, is deeply concerned about the ongoing harassment of the newspaper Assandi Times and other independent Kazakhstani media.

On 9 March, police in St. Petersburg, Russia, detained and questioned Assandi Times editor, Irina Petrushova, after Kazakhstani authorities issued a warrant for her arrest. Petrushova was detained for four hours at Police Station No. 19 in St. Petersburg’s Vyborg district, but then released unconditionally. Reportedly, she was arrested for infringing a tax law, but was told by a source at the Russian Interior Ministry that the case was probably politically motivated. This is not the first case of harassment or intimidation against the Assandi Times this year. Svetlana Rychkova, a journalist with the newspaper, was assaulted on 30 January.

A sports journalist, Maxim Khartashov, was assaulted by two unidentified men in Almaty on 11 March. He sustained head injuries and had to be hospitalised. None of his valuables were taken. Khartashov, who has often exposed corruption among Kazakhstan’s sports authorities, believes the attack was related to his work.

In another incident involving a sports journalist, Nesip Zhunusbayev, editor-in-chief of the weekly Sport and KS, was dismissed from his position by Daulet Turlykhanov, Kazakhstan’s Minister for Tourism and Sports. Sport and KS is published by the Ministry. The dismissal came as a result of an article titled “Where is the development of Kazakh sport leading?”, which criticised the sports authorities.

IPI is worried about the increasing harassment and intimidation of Kazakhstani journalists ahead of the October parliamentary elections. We urge Your Excellency to authorise an immediate and thorough investigation into these incidents and to do everything in your power to create an environment in Kazakhstan that allows journalists to freely practice their profession.

We thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Johann P. Fritz
Director