Court ruling leaves Azattyq reporters without accreditation as watchdogs warn of deepening press freedom crisis.
A court in Kazakhstan has rejected Wednesday an appeal by Azattyq, the local service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), to reinstate accreditation for 16 of its reporters barred from working since June under the country’s restrictive 2024 media law. The ruling, delivered Tuesday, leaves the journalists unable to work legally.
The law prohibits foreign journalists from operating without accreditation. Authorities argue that the reporters—including the Kazakh service’s bureau chief—violated the rule by continuing to work while their renewal applications were pending.
“RFE/RL’s bold reporting has an absolutely central place in Kazakhstan’s media sphere, and we await with deep concern a court verdict that could dramatically hinder its work,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “Kazakh authorities must allow RFE/RL to operate free from harassment and should reform overly restrictive foreign accreditation laws.”
According to Radio Azattyq, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs failed to process renewal applications within the required two-month window, then used the delay as grounds for refusal. Radio Azattyq says the ban on “foreign media and foreign journalists” does not apply to its staff, all of whom are Kazakh citizens.
Accreditation disputes are not new. In 2024, authorities withheld credentials for 36 RFE/RL staff for several months before reaching a compromise. Officials have also restricted access to the service’s website and other online content.
Local advocacy groups say the denials are aimed specifically at Radio Azattyq. “It was clear then and it’s even clearer now that [the restrictive 2024 accreditation amendments] were devised for Radio Azattyq,” wrote Gulmira Birzhanova, head of media support at the Legal Media Center, which represented RFE/RL in the case.
The Specialized Interdistrict Administrative Court in Astana also rejected a lawsuit filed by seven Radio Azattyq journalists against the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, demanding that the refusal to grant them permanent accreditation be declared unlawful.
While judge Smagulov cited parts of the country’s mass media law—which prohibits foreign media and foreign journalists from working without accreditation—Azattyq’s lawyers argued the ministry unlawfully extended the review period, then issued refusals without further explanations.
According to VLAST, OCCRP’s partner in Kazakhstan, Azattyq’s Almaty bureau chief Kasym Amanzhol said the outlet plans to appeal the ruling.
In a recent interview with CPJ, Radio Azattyq director Torokul Doorov said mass accreditation refusals and site throttling have coincided with critical coverage of Kazakhstan’s leadership and reporting on the deadly 2022 protests.
