The Almaty City Court on December 7 rejected an appeal by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, locally known as Radio Azattyq, against a lower court decision last month to fine the media outlet 103,500 tenges ($220) for "violating a law on the distribution of 'false information.'" The charge was based on a complaint filed by Alisher Turabaev from the southern city of Shymkent, who said Azattyq "wrongfully" described the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) as Russian-led in one of its reports. The media outlet rejects the charge. The law, enacted this year, has been called “a soft censorship tool” by rights defenders. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.
