Condemnation of ill-treatment of journalists continues

Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF), a French group protecting the rights of journalists, has condemned the recent attack on a prominent Kazakh journalist in Almaty, calling for a full investigation. "We want to know exactly what happened and who is responsible," the head of RSF's European desk, Soria Blatmann, told IRIN from Paris. The group has sent a press release to the Kazakh embassy in Paris as well as to the Kazakh president himself. Sergei Duvanov, who writes for opposition-based websites, was severely beaten up late last week. The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported that on reaching the residential block where he lived, Duvanov took the lift to the fourth floor where his flat was. On leaving the lift, he was attacked by three men wielding clubs. "Duvanov was able to tell his colleagues that in response to his question, 'Why are you beating me ?' one of his attackers said, 'You know why. And if you carry on, you'll be made a total cripple,'" a CPJ statement said. The Kazakh journalist, a political commentator well known for his critical analyses of political conditions in Kazakhstan, had suffered frequent harassment at the hands of the authorities, the statement added. On 9 July, a case was filed against Duvanov by the prosecutor-general's office for "infringing the honour and dignity of the president". The charge carries a penalty of a fine or a maximum three-year prison sentence. "Kazakhstan is becoming more and more dangerous for journalists of the independent media who criticise the police or President Nursultan Nazarbayev," RSF Secretary-General Robert Menard said. The CPJ is backing RSF in its battle to protect journalists in the Central Asian country who live in fear of their lives. "We demand a thorough investigation into this attack," said Ann Cooper, CJP's executive director. "We urge President Nazarbayev to see that the perpetrators are brought to justice," she added. This is the third incident in recent weeks involving journalists. Recently the daughter of an opposition journalist died in dubious circumstances while in the hands of the police, resulting in RSF's sending a mission to Almaty to investigate. "We spoke to Duvanov when we were last in Almaty, and he was telling us that he felt that his life was in danger," Blatmann said. "Anything could happen to him now, and we need to know that he will be safe," she added.