Kazakhstan, January 19, 2021 — Journalists faced interference by the police while covering the parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan on January 10, 2021. Saniya Toiken of Radio Free Europe’s Radio Azattyk was among those whose phones were confiscated by the police. The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns such harsh treatment of journalists.

According to Reporters Without Borders, a police officer took Saniya’s phone and deleted some of the videos that she had shot in Nursultan, the capital of Kazakhstan, on the election day. This is not the first time Saniya has been mistreated by the police. On October 24, 2020, she was covering a rally in Nursultan when a police officer snatched her phone and pushed her to the ground before dragging her to a police vehicle.

She had told the Institute for War and Peace Reporting that she had faced such incidents multiple times but would now lodge a formal complaint.

Prior to this incident, Saniya was detained on March 11, 2019, in Zhanaozen, where she was reporting on the rallies of residents demanding jobs. She was fined 50,500 tenges (Kazakhstani currency, then equivalent to $125) after a court hearing pronounced her guilty of refusing to follow police orders.

However, Saniya had rejected the charge and said the case was politically motivated and aimed to impede her from reporting.

The CFWIJ condemns such treatment of journalists who are dutifully doing their work. We demand the authorities take necessary action against police misconduct. CFWIJ implores the importance of respecting press freedom and allowing journalists to report without harassment.