The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) sponsored a February 25 roundtable in Astana where Kazakhstani government officials, non-governmental organizations, media representatives and others met to discuss the law on mass media currently being developed in Kazakhstan.

An announcement of the event posted on the OSCE website includes a link to an OSCE-commissioned analysis of the draft law.

On May 17, the government of Kazakhstan's National Security Committee officially charged the opposition newspaper Taz'zhargan under the country's criminal laws against "insulting the honor and dignity of the president," according to a joint action alert from Adil Soz, a Kazakhstan-based foundation promoting free speech, and from the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX). According to the report, the charges come as a result of the paper's republication of stories that ran in the New York Times and in a Turkish newspaper in 2005 and 2006.

The Adil Soz/IFEX action alert classifies the charges as a threat to freedom of expression in the country.

At neweurasia Kazakhstan, Leila has been talking to Kazakhstani experts about blogging, the internet, and citizen journalism. So far she has posted interviews with:  read more »