Saniya Toiken

Affiliated media: Radio Azattyk, Journalist

Incident date: February 27, 2019

Attack type:

• Short-term detention

Who attacked: Authorities

Source: Adil Soz

Location: Kazakhstan, Mangystau Province, Zhanaozen

Additional information:

Saniya told the editorial board that she and Sanat Nurbek had been detained by force on the basis of a statement to the police. The journalists were taken to the Mangistau Police Department in Aktau (an hour and a half drive from Zhanaozen). At the police station, police showed Toiken a statement from a citizen Shaudirov, who expressed fears that conversations conducted by Azattyk reporters with residents of the city could "inflame discord." The investigator Nazarbay Zhanbayev spoke with Saniya, who told her that she was a "witness with the right to protection". Sanat Nurbek was interviewed by another investigator.