The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) issued a statement on September 3 expressing concerns over recently introduced changes to Kazakhstan's domestic-media accreditation regulations and proposed changes to foreign-media accreditation, saying they could be used to muzzle independent media.
"New and proposed amendments to Kazakhstan’s accreditation regulations are excessive and open too many doors to censorship. Instead of the greater openness promised by President [Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev's] 'New Kazakhstan,' what journalists are really getting is ever more creeping state control," CPJ Europe and Central Asia program coordinator Gulnoza Said said.
"Kazakh authorities should heed journalists' legitimate complaints and revise the media accreditation rules.”
The changes regulating domestic media in the Central Asian country that came into force last month allow a journalist's accreditation to be withdrawn for six months if they twice fail to comply with rules at news events, which could potentially include asking off-topic questions.
Also last month, the Kazakh government proposed regulations for foreign media outlets that allow the Foreign Ministry to deny or revoke accreditation for any violation of Kazakh law, including minor "administrative" offenses.
A media law that came into force in June already bans foreign media from unaccredited journalistic activity.
Domestic and international rights groups and media experts have expressed concerns over that law, saying it will compromise independent journalism and lead to self-censorship in the tightly controlled former Soviet republic.
Another provision in the law that Toqaev signed on June 20 says that all Internet resources are to be considered media outlets.
Among other things, the law introduces a three-year period to file lawsuits over materials published in the media.
In 2024, Kazakhstan slipped from 134th place to 142nd in the press index of Reporters Without Borders, which monitors media freedom around the world.