Human rights in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan's human rights situation is uniformly described as poor by independent observers. Human Rights Watch says that "Kazakhstan heavily restricts freedom of assembly, speech, and religion. In 2014, authorities closed newspapers, jailed or fined dozens of people after peaceful but unsanctioned protests, and fined or detained worshipers for practicing religion outside state controls. Government critics, including opposition leader Vladimir Kozlov, remained in detention after unfair trials ... Torture remains common in places of detention."

Kazakhstan's political structure concentrates power in the presidency. President Nursultan Nazarbayev has been the country's leader since 1989, when he was named First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Kazakh SSR, and was elected the nation's first president following its independence from the Soviet Union in December 1991. No election ever held in Kazakhstan has met international standards.

In 2012 Kazakhstan was elected as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council. During the Universal Periodic Review of Human Rights in 2014, national representatives "commended Kazakhstan’s establishment of a mechanism to prevent torture and of a national human rights institution" but "shared concerns about legal restrictions on freedom".

Political expression was reported to be restricted in Kazakhstan in the months leading up to presidential elections in December 2005, according to observers, including Human Rights Watch and Freedom House. Kazakh authorities reportedly attempted to restrict freedom of speech and shut down independent media and civil society groups. In September, the Vremya printing house unexpectedly cancelled contracts with seven newspapers, with no explanation given. Likewise, other printing firms in Kazakhstan's former capital, Almaty, also refused to print the publications. After a week-long hunger strike by the editors of these papers, the Daur publishing house agreed to publish five of the newspapers. Virtually all of Kazakhstan's broadcast media are owned by firms closely associated with the government; newspapers are some of the few sources of independent reporting.

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