Kazakhstan: Chief Editor Zarina Akhmatova Forced To Resign To Restore Blocked Hola News Website

HOLA News editor-in-chief Zarina Akhmatova and founders Alisher Kaidarov and Adilet Tursynbek were forced to resign after the website of the independent news network was made widely inaccessible for users. HOLA News was forced to remove its report on the Pandora Papers, implicating former president Nursultan Nazarbayev’s believed extra-marital partner Assel Kurmanbayeva as a beneficiary of secretive offshore payments, before its website was restored after 10 days. The Coalition For Women In Journalism is deeply concerned at this blatant infringement on press freedom. We extend solidarity to Zarina, and HOLA News founders and team, and demand that the news organization is allowed to operate independently without interference.