Maria Melnikova

Affiliated media: Radio Azattyk, Journalist

Incident date: March 25, 2020

Attack type:

• Confiscation/seizure of property, vehicles, equipment, documents
• Short-term detention
• Interrogation

Who attacked: Authorities

Source: Adil Soz

Location: Kazakhstan, West Kazakhstan Province, Uralsk

Additional information:

Radio Azattyk reporter for the West Kazakhstan region Maria Melnikova was detained in Uralsk when she was on her way to a meeting on editorial assignment. The journalist was detained right on the street and immediately handed a summons for questioning by the regional police department as a witness in the case of disseminating deliberately false information. The police did not draw up the detention report, arguing that the journalist was not detained but brought it for questioning. During the questioning, Melnikova's cell phone was taken away «for information extraction». The journalist was asked to come for it the next day. However, when she appeared at the police department, she was told without explanation that she would need to come later. By the end of March, the journalist's phone was never returned. On March 26, Maria Melnikova filed a complaint with the prosecutor's office of the West Kazakhstan region about the illegal actions of investigator N.V. Vyaznikov.