Sanctioning the authors for participating in a peaceful assembly

Facts

The authors of the combined communications are nationals of Kazakhstan. The government of Kazakhstan unexpectedly announced that the national currency would be devalued by 30%. The authors joined a protest against the measure and were detained by the police. That day, an administrative court found them guilty of an administrative offense requiring government authorization prior to the holding of peaceful assemblies. They were sanctioned to various fines and appealed unsuccessfully. All authors claim that the State party violated their rights under article 14 relating to due process because the court refused to provide them with counsel and to allow journalists to attend the court hearings. They also allege violations of their article 21 right to freedom of assembly, and three authors additionally allege violations of article 19 relating to freedom of expression. One author additionally claims that the State party has violated her right to impart information as a journalist.

Admissibility

Contrary to the State’s argument, the Committee reiterated that a failure to seek discretionary review from a prosecutor does not constitute a failure to exhaust domestic remedies, and that the authors did in fact seek discretionary review from other prosecutors’ offices which were denied. Similarly, the failure to file a cassation appeal did not prohibit the Committee’s review because that procedure did not become operative until after the submission of the present communications. Furthermore, although a communication should normally be submitted by an individual or their representative, the Committee was not precluded from examining the communications because the alleged victims duly issued powers of attorney to authorize an NGO to submit the claims. However, the authors failed to substantiate their due process claims, and the Committee found those claims inadmissible.

Merits

The State party failed to demonstrate that the statutory authorization regime pursuant to which the authors were arrested was least intrusive in nature or proportionate to the interest that it sought to protect. Moreover, the State party failed to provide adequate specific details as to a disturbance caused by the assembly in question. The Committee concluded that the State party failed to justify the restriction of the authors’ right to peaceful assembly and violated article 21 of the Covenant. The Committee further concluded that similarly, the State party failed to justify the restrictions regarding article 19 and concluded that the authors who raised freedom of expression claims demonstrated violations. The Committee did not find a violation of the author’s right to impart information as a journalist as the challenged restrictions appeared to be motivated by concern for public safety and public order.

Recommendations

The State party should, inter alia, take appropriate steps to provide the authors with adequate compensation and reimbursement of the imposed fines and any legal costs incurred by them.

Implementation

Deadline for implementation: 6 September 2023

More information on the case:

— New York Times - Feeling Economic Pressure, Kazakhstan Takes Sudden Action