FEB. 22 2016, ALMATY (The Conway Bulletin) — Police arrested Seitkazy Matayev, one of Kazakhstan’s most prominent journalists and a former press secretary of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, as well as his son Aset for stealing government money and for tax evasion.
The arrests are a an escalation of the pressure that journalists are under in Kazakhstan. They appeared to show that no journalist, whatever their reputation and links, is beyond the reach of the authorities during a crackdown which analysts have linked to a sharp downturn in the economy and a parliamentary election next month.
Mr Matayev served as a spokesman for Nazarbayev in 1991-3, is head of the journalists’ union and runs the National Press Club in Almaty, used as a discussion platform for opposition, journalists, activists, politicians and businessmen.
He was also the founder and owner of the KazTAG news agency of which his son was CEO. The authorities said that they had stolen a combined 300m tenge ($861,000), from state organisations.
Journalists told The Conway Bulletin’s Almaty correspondent that Mr Matayev’s arrest signalled that the authorities wanted to increase the pressure on journalists further.
Zhanna Baitelova, a freelance journalist, said it was no surprise that the authorities were pressuring Kazakhstan’s opposition media.
“But when they detain the head of Journalists’ Union of Kazakhstan, an organisation that is per se neutral, it is shocking,” she said. “The situation with press freedom in Kazakhstan is critical, especially in the light of recent events.”
Police later released Asset Matayev. Seitkazy Matayev was placed under house arrest.
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(News report from Issue No. 269, published on Feb. 26 2016)
