LEGAL MEDIA CENTER WON CASE AGAINST KAZAKHSTAN IN THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE

The UN Committee declared the court decision to close the paper “Pravdivaya Gazeta” unlawful.

Printing media was born in 2013 and at the same time was fined for incorrect publication of the publisher’s imprint with confiscation of the circulation. In August, the newspaper was suspended for three months. This was followed by a series of suspensions and confiscations.

In 2014, the court ruled to close the publication on the grounds that it violated administrative norms three times. All subsequent courts, including the Supreme, supported this decision.

In 2015, editor-in-chief Rozlana Taukina (now deceased) appealed to the UN Human Rights Committee, finding the court's decision illegal. PF "Legal Media Center" represented her interests in the international instance.

«The Committee notes the authors’ claim that the administrative fines imposed on the

first author, the seizure of Pravdivaya Gazeta print-runs, the suspension of its release and its

termination by a court order amounted to a restriction of their right to impart information and

ideas in print which was incompatible with article 19 (3) of the Covenant. The Committee

takes notes of the authors’ claims that this restriction cannot be considered as provided by

law for the purposes of the Covenant due to vague and excessively broad wording of the law

“On mass media”, that the restriction did not pursue any legitimate objective under article 19

(3) of the Covenant and that it was disproportionate to the infractions she was charged with».

Thus Committee called on a) to provide the authors with adequate compensation, including

reimbursement for any legal costs and administrative fines incurred by them; b) to review the

decision on cessation of the activities of the newspaper and annulment of its registration.

According to the lawyer of the foundation Gulmira Birzhanova, despite the fact that the decision is unenforceable at the moment, such documents in favor of freedom of speech indicate to the state obvious gaps in legislation and practice and contribute to the fulfillment of international obligations.