KAZAKHSTAN: "TASZHARGAN" EDITOR ARRESTED AND RELEASED,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 000744 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN, DRL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM OSCE KZ SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: "TASZHARGAN" EDITOR ARRESTED AND RELEASED, PAPER CEASES PUBLICATION REF: (A) ASTANA 0715 (B) ASTANA 0545 (C) ASTANA 0479 (D) ASTANA 0431 (E) ASTANA 0006 ASTANA 00000744 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet. ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: Yermurat Bapi, editor of the opposition newspaper "Taszhargan," was arrested on April 23 for failing to pay a 30 million tenge ($200,000) court-ordered damage award to a parliamentarian, but was released the same day after the Almaty procurator's office protested his detention. Bapi's quick release was reportedly the result of an unexpected intervention from President Nazarbayev's daughter, Dariga Nazarbayeva. We were told she intervened to prevent the case from marring her Eurasian Media Forum -- an international media conference which was taking place in Almaty at the time of the arrest (ref A). Civil society activists sharply criticized the arrest as an act of political pressure against independent media. Following his release, Bapi sent a letter to various government agencies and diplomatic missions, including this Embassy, announcing his intention to cease publication of "Taszhargan," lest it create a risk for his colleagues, and claiming that the excessive fine levied against him was part of a campaign to suppress freedom of speech in Kazakhstan. He later confirmed to us that "Taszhargan" has ceased publication, and said he will begin publishing a new paper, under a different name, at the beginning of May. END SUMMARY. EDITOR ARRESTED AND RELEASED ¶3. (SBU) (SBU) Yermurat Bapi, editor of the opposition newspaper "Taszhargan," was arrested and sentenced to five days in jail on April 23 for disobeying a court order to apologize and pay damages to Romin Madinov, a member of the Mazhilis, the lower house of Kazakhstan's parliament. Bapi was released the same day after the Almaty procurator's office protested his detention. On February 26, the Almaty City Court -- an appellate body -- had ordered Bapi to pay 30 million tenge ($200,000) in compensation for emotional damages to Madinov, increasing ten-fold a district court's January decision to grant Madinov 3 million tenge ($20,000) in damages (refs D and E). As reported previously, the judgment against "Taszhargan" stems from an article that referred to Madinov as a "land baron" and implied that he was involved in shady business activities (ref E). Bapi planned to take the case to Kazakhstan's Supreme Court, but that appeal has been delayed for technical reasons. INTERVENTION FROM POWERS THAT BE? ¶4. (SBU) Bapi's quick release from custody was reportedly aided by an intervention from a higher power, President Nazarbayev's daughter, Dariga Nazarbayeva. His arrest coincided with the opening in Almaty of the Eurasian Media Forum, a large international media conference organized by Nazarbayeva and co-sponsored by CNN and the "International Herald Tribune" (ref A). We understand from contacts who attended the conference that Rozlana Taukina, head of the NGO Journalists in Danger, approached Nazarbayeva regarding Bapi's arrest and asked her to intervene, arguing that it was poor optics for the Forum. Nazarbayeva reportedly then "made a phone call" -- and Bapi was released shortly afterwards. CIVIL SOCIETY SURPRISED BY THE ARREST ¶5. (SBU) Tamara Kaleyeva, the director of media watch-dog NGO Adil Soz, ascribed Bapi's arrest to the wish of some "mid-level bureaucrats to make a name for themselves on a high-profile case." She joked that the Kazakhstani government could have picked a "better time" to arrest Bapi, i.e., sometime other than during the Media Forum. Kaleyeva reiterated her view that the "Taszhargan" ruling contradicts the law since the courts must take into account the finances of a media outlet in assessing damages in libel cases. She argued that the case is "a warning to other journalists." Almaty Helsinki Committee head Ninel Fokina said she was "shocked" ASTANA 00000744 002.2 OF 002 to hear about Bapi's arrest. Court judgments against construction companies that embezzled the funds of their investors have languished for years, she argued, and yet Bapi is asked to come up with the full sum "a mere two months after the court's decision." "TASZHARGAN" CEASES PUBLICATION ¶6. (SBU) On April 23, Bapi sent a letter to various government agencies and diplomatic missions, including the U.S. Embassy, announcing his intention to cease publication of "Taszhargan." "I do not want to create any risks for my friends, journalists, and their families," wrote Bapi. He claimed that the government, and possibly even President Nazarbayev, is behind the court decision to impose the heavy fine on the newspaper, which he insisted was the result of legitimate article reporting on corruption and the need for democratic reform. (COMMENT: The article did not actually directly touch on the issue of democratic reform. END COMMENT.) Bapi maintained that the damage award was beyond the financial means of any independent publication, and called on the international community to protest the "campaign to suppress freedom of speech in Kazakhstan." ¶7. (SBU) Bapi confirmed to us on April 28 that "Taszhargan" has ceased publication. He said that he will begin publishing a new newspaper, under a different name, at the beginning of May. He is fairly certain that this strategy will help him avoid paying the fine since the court judgment was technically against "Taszhargan" and not Bapi personally. This is the fifth time that Bapi closed a newspaper and established a new one to avoid paying compensation in libel cases or what he calls "excessive taxes." ¶8. (SBU) COMMENT: Bapi has not yet exhausted all the legal remedies available, and it is possible that the judgment against "Taszhargan" will be overturned by the Supreme Court. Even if it isn't, it looks like Bapi will succeed, as he has done in the past, in continuing his work by opening up a new paper under a different name -- an indication of what a strange cat and mouse game this is. In a March 5 letter to Foreign Minister Tazhin on the "Taszhargan" case, OSCE Freedom of the Media Representative Miklos Haraszti explained that in accordance with OSCE commitments and Council of Europe standards, damage awards in defamation cases "should not bankrupt or endanger" media outlets. The Ambassador stressed this very point in a March 10 meeting with Presidential Human Rights Commission Chairman Saginbek Tursunov. We should consider raising the issue of excessive fines for libel again during Foreign Minister Tazhin's May 4-5 visit to Washington. END COMMENT. HOAGLAND