Aleksey Kovalenko

Affiliated media: Uralsk News, Journalist

Incident date: March 16, 2021

Attack type:

• Illegal impediments to journalistic activity, denial of access to information

Who attacked: Authorities

Source: Adil Soz

Location: Kazakhstan, West Kazakhstan Province, Uralsk

Additional information:

The Borili District Court security guards did not allow the journalist of Uralsk News Aleksey Kovalenko into the courtroom where an open hearing of a high-profile criminal case of murder was being held. A security officer, to whom Kovalenko showed his journalist ID, demanded an editorial assignment. Under Kazakhstani law, criminal proceedings in all courts and tribunals are public. Restricting the publicity of court proceedings is allowed only when it contradicts the interests of protecting state secrets and other secrets protected by law.