Affiliated media: Journalistic Initiative LLP, Owner of the media outlet

Incident date: December 4, 2023

Attack type:

• Court trial

Who attacked: Authorities

Source: Adil Soz

Location: Kazakhstan, West Kazakhstan Province, Uralsk

Additional information:

The court in Uralsk considered a lawsuit for the protection of honour, dignity, and business reputation of Bisengaliy Khayrullin, Deputy Head of the Department of Natural Resources and Nature Management Regulation of the West Kazakhstan Region, against the owner of the newspaper Uralskaya Nedelya, Journalistic Initiative LLP, and journalist Lyudmila Kalashnikova. The plaintiff believes that the journalist distorted his words in the phrase «we will not let them develop quarries on the territory of the state forest fund», as he did not say them. In the course of the court proceedings, the parties concluded a mediation agreement. Under its terms, the media outlet publishes a clarification about the incorrectness of the presentation, which led to the fact that the information was misunderstood. The plaintiff, in turn, waives all its claims — for refutation and reimbursement of court expenses.