Kazakhstani Media are relatively free by Central Asian and Eastern European standards. However, despite press freedom being enshrined in Kazakhstan's constitution, monitors report that privately owned and opposition media are routinely harassed and censored. In 2004 the International Federation of Journalists identified a "growing pattern" of intimidation of the media. Reporters Without Borders in its annual report of the same year said that "such independence remains largely theoretical because most of the media is controlled by associates of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, notably his daughter, Dariga Nazarbayev".
All media are required to register with the Ministry of Culture, Information and Sports, with the exception of websites.
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Kazakhstan-1 is the state television channel of Kazakhstan. Other country-wide television stations are Khabar and Yel Arna. Khabar is owned by the President's daughter and therefore rarely broadcasts criticism of his policy. According to government statistics there are 116 private channels, including Kanal 31, KTK and Perviy Kanal Evraziya, with varying coverage across the nation. American & European TV-shows are also popular in Kazakhstan.
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The state-owned Kazakh Radio broadcasts in both official languages. A wide number of private radio stations are also available including Europa Plus, Russkoye Radio, Hit FM, Radio Azattyq and Radio Karavan. Similarly to the television market, the President's daughter and her husband, Rakhat Aliyev, control the majority of the sector.
A wide range of publications, mostly supportive of the government, are available. The authorities operates one of the two national Russian-language newspapers and the only regular national Kazakh language newspaper. According to government statistics, there were 990 privately owned newspapers and 418 privately owned magazines. Those supportive of the opposition face harassment and lawsuits.
In May 2005 the Kazakh Information Ministry ordered one of the few opposition newspapers to close. The ministry accused Respublika of inciting ethnic hatred by publishing an interview with a Russian politician who made derogatory remarks about ethnic Kazakhstani's. Its editor, Irina Petrushova, fled to Russia in 2002 after intimidation and the firebombing of the paper's offices. The paper's deputy editor Galina Dyrdina called the closure politically-motivated, and vowed to appeal.
A selection of websites from Kazakhstani newspapers are given below:
for further details: List of newspapers in Kazakhstan
The internet faces severe pressure from the government. The censorship of online publications has become routine and arbitrary. In 2003 the state telecom firm Kazakhtelekom was ordered to block access to a dozen websites it said were 'destructive'. The pages either supported the opposition or provided neutral news coverage.
On 13 June 2005 a court in Almaty ordered former Information Minister Altynbek Sarsenbaev (the opposition leader assassinated in January 2006) to pay 1 million tenges ($7,500) in damages for 'defaming' Khabar news agency. Sarsenbaev was also ordered to publicly retract comments he made in an interview with the opposition newspaper Respublika. He had alleged that Khabar was part of a monopolistic media holding controlled by Dariga Nazarbayev. The case is believed to be in response to his resignation after the 2004 elections. At the time he stated "The election was not fair, honest, or transparent; the authorities showed that from the beginning they didn't want honest elections."
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