International human rights group “Article 19” called for the immediate release of the head of the Union of Journalists of Kazakhstan

Almaty. February 26. Silkroadnews - International human rights organization “Article 19” called for the immediate release of the chairman of the Union of Journalists of Kazakhstan Seitkazy Matayev, the International Foundation for the Protection of freedom of speech “Adil Soz” reports.
“Article 19” calls the Kazakhstani authorities to immediately release Seitkazy Matayev and provide both Seitkazy and his son the opportunity to defend themselves against the charges brought against them. In addition, the Kazakhstani authorities should refrain from the politically motivated charges against the journalists in the run-up to elections to ensure they are free to cover the election, as required by a democratic society,” - said in a statement on Friday.
This international organization connects the current situation of S. Matayev with an attempt to control the media in Kazakhstan on the eve of parliamentary elections.
“Detention of the Matayevs may be associated with attempts to control the media in the run-up to the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan. The mass-media play an important role in public control over the authorities, especially during the election campaigns, as well as in solving all kinds of problems that may be of interest to the public,” – the statement underlines.  
At the same time, it is noted, “for the elections to be considered as free and fair, a variety of free mass-media informing the electorate on the political options, assessing the candidates and choosing freely those they believe to be the most qualified, are necessary”.
According to the report, starting from January 2016 both Matayevs received complaints from the various government agencies - from the architectural department to the State Revenue Department.
“Since January 2016 Matayevs has received a series of complaints from the government agencies, including the city’s architecture department, tax police and the national anti-corruption agency, all in relation to the alleged violations of the law. Matayevs deny all the charges brought against them and are ready to prove their position”, - the report says.
    It is emphasized that the Department of Anti-Corruption publicly accused S. Matayev in major embezzlement before bringing the official charges against him.
“No official charges have been brought neither to father nor son, yet in a statement released by the anti-corruption agency S. Matayev got accused of embezzling 380 million tenge (about £750,000) from the state funds transferred to the press club and KazTAG on the official contract for the national policy promotion. A separate investigation is conducted on the theft from the local budget. In a statement S. Matayev is accused of tax evasion in the amount of KZT 327 million (approximately £650,000)”, - the report says.
According to international human rights organization, S. Matayev’ persecution is “an attack on freedom of speech”.
“The National Press Club headed by S. Matayev often holds the press-conferences and debates, which is a much to seek in place where freedom of speech has long been under attack. For many years, independent and critical journalists and the mass-media in Kazakhstan face constant legal harassment that undermines their ability to report freely on the issues of public interest. Criminal charges are often brought against the independent media,” - the message underlines.