Kazakhstan: blocked website is back online after removing news about Nazarbayev’s wife
The website of the online edition HOLA News, access to which has been blocked for more than 10 days, is back online. This happened right after the editorial office removed the previously published news that the unofficial wife of the first president of Kazakhstan earned $ 30 million from a secret offshore deal.
The story with HOLA news looks pretty strange. As a reminder, the site stopped working on October 5. The editorial board, which initially attributed this situation to technical problems, then concluded that DPI-blocking (Deep Packet Inspection) was applied – a technology for checking and filtering network packets.
“The technical specialists involved to analyze the problem told us the following:“ The inaccessibility of the holanews.kz resource is caused by the blocking of the 443-port of the IP address at the provider level. Using DPI technology. Confirmation of this is that open DPI bypass tools allow you to connect to the site ”(proof is at the disposal of the editors). Similar blocks were used in neighboring Russia to restrict access to content. Information about this and the details of this type of restriction to content is easy to find in the public domain upon request. The technology allows you to analyze the content of information transmitted between users and sites and restrict access to it, ”the media outlet said at the time.
On October 7, the International Fund for the Defense of Freedom of Expression “Adil Soz” made an official statement to the Minister of Information and Public Accord of Kazakhstan, Aida Balaeva, with a request to use all the powers given to her to immediately restore the work of the blocked HOLA News website.
“You have repeatedly stated that your ministry is ready to protect journalists and the media,” the Foundation said in its appeal. – Now there is such an emergency that requires your intervention and protection. For some unknown reason, the popular online publication HOLA News has been blocked. We ask you to use all the powers given to you to immediately investigate this egregious incident, restore the smooth operation of HOLA News, and inform the public about the reasons for this violation of the constitutional norms of freedom of speech. ”
However, the state authorities disowned the situation with HOLA News, saying that they had nothing to do with blocking the site.
“It turns out that no one seems to be blocking the site, but it is blocked without trial and investigation for reasons we do not understand. Therefore, all guesses about who we crossed the road to are a subject of fantasy. The relevant ministry is aware of the problem with the lack of access to the site. If they wanted to state something on this score, they had and still have such an opportunity. After all, they are needed not only to talk on glamorous platforms that freedom of speech is flourishing in our country and to distribute government orders. Everyone wrote about the blocking – from pop singers on Instagram to information resources. If this is an educational process, then we are one of those disobedient ones who do not tolerate demonstrative flogging and rebel, “- Zarina Akhmatova, editor-in-chief of the HOLA News website, commented to ACCA.
However, later it was still possible to establish because of what specific material the HOLA News website was blocked. On October 4, the portal published the news about a secret offshore deal, in which Asel Kurmanbaeva, the unofficial wife of the first president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, was involved.
The news is part of the OCCRP’s investigation of financial documents revealing secret offshore transactions. The dossier, known as the Pandora Papers, contains about 12 million files.
“Asel Kurmanbaeva and the“ leader of the nation ”(a life-long title given to Nazarbayev by law that protects him and his family members from any persecution) have never confirmed or denied their relationship. Talks about her being his tokal (second wife) or unofficial wife spread after she won the Miss Kazakhstan beauty pageant. Photos of her two sons’ passports posted on news sites listed their names as Nursultanuly. In Kazakhstan, the father’s name is often written instead of the last name, ”the authors of the study write.
According to OCCRP, Kurmanbaeva is the artistic director of two state-run dance institutes in Kazakhstan and owns several ballet and national dance firms and foundations.
“But no matter how much she earned in the field of culture, this is nothing compared to the wealth she received from Nazarbayev’s entourage,” the researchers say.
According to the Pandora Papers, Kurmanbaeva had a secret company registered in the British Virgin Islands. There was no activity in the company. Nevertheless, she managed to sell the company for $ 30 million. OCCRP says Kazakh oligarchs Vladimir Ni (now deceased) and Vladimir Kim are involved in the deal. OCCRP notes that Kurmanbaeva received the money in 2010, two months after the death of Vladimir Ni. The money came from the company, which passed to Ni’s daughter, and Vladimir Kim witnessed the payment. An international consortium of investigative journalists sought official comments from Nazarbayev, Kim, the Ni family, and Kurmanbaeva, but received no response.
It was this news that became the reason for the blocking of HOLA News. As soon as it was removed (see screenshot), the site immediately started working. It happened on October 14th. However, the story with the blocking of HOLA News did not end there.
On October 15, an appeal to readers signed by the founders of HOLA News Alisher Kaidarov, Adilet Tursynbek, and editor-in-chief Zarina Akhmatova (pictured) appeared on the unblocked website, which said that all three had decided to leave the project.
“Since the launch of the website in 2018, the main principle of our work has been the desire to speak honestly, objectively, and without regard to those who decide that they know best how to do journalism. We tried to professionally cover events that are of interest to everyone who loves and supports our country. Of course, we understood that the growth of the site’s audience would draw attention to its independent editorial policy. In fact, they did not come for us, they came for you. Those who now know that the media can be trusted. Circumstances developed in such a way that after 10 days of blocking, we had to give up our basic principle. We have removed the news from the website. The work of the company will be continued by a new team. We sincerely hope that the brand will continue to grow and develop. (…) That is why we believe that leaving is better than staying. To remain ourselves, “- says the published message.
Interestingly, the news about the secret offshore deal was published not only by HOLA News but also by several other Kazakh media outlets – Uralskaya Nedelya, Vlast online magazine, etc. However, no one blocked access to their sites, and they continue work in the normal mode, even though this information has not been removed from their portals and has been published until now.
“The walk-off of not only the editor-in-chief but also the owners, speaks of very serious pressure, first of all, as I understand it, on the founders of the media. Those who forced the news to be deleted and, as a result, to leave this team, were deeply mistaken – information about this, along with the text of the news, will now be distributed throughout the Internet, with numerous mentions in the media around the world! I guarantee! It was foolish not to anticipate it! The reputation of the current leaders of the country, as well as the image of the “hearing state”, which is so difficult to introduce among the masses, will simply sink to the bottom. Although, as they say, there is nowhere to fall further, “- noted on this occasion the well-known Kazakhstani PR expert Samat Dzhamayev.
“I knew that because of Pandora’s investigation, it all happened! But not only Hola wrote about this! So this is a punishment. Someone showed the limits of what is permitted. But it can’t be choked, can’t be killed. Although the sediment from such a dirty reprisal is bitter. Until heartburn, ”- in turn, said journalist Alisa Masaleva.
However, this was not the end. The very next day after the publication of the appeal of the ex-founders and ex-editor-in-chief of HOLA News, posts from people who allegedly worked in this media began to appear on social networks. In these posts, complaints were expressed that the editorial office did not pay money to its journalists for several months. At the same time, journalists from other publications began to actively support them, which not so long ago the old HOLA News team actively defended from attacks, supported and showed solidarity with them.
“As if on command, tens or hundreds of people on the Internet began to write about these supposedly huge debts in all telegram channels and comments:“ Return the money ”. These people have never worked for us. Never. I thought it was obvious that we could not fail to answer for the statement. The way the journalists turned out to be “fact-checkers” is simply depressing. Me personally. All this is very unpleasant for me, there is a feeling that I want to wash my hands. It is a great pity that the discussion from the plane of freedom of speech spilled over into the plane of the transition to personalities. In the place of the people who are deploying all this, I would simply leave us alone, we would take up our lives, ”Zarina Akhmatova wrote on this occasion on Facebook.
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