Kazakhstan shuts down oppn websites

10 January 2016

The government of Kazakhstan announced Friday that it is closing down several sites run by opposition sites and opposition-related platforms – including opposition.com – and preventing them from providing services for visitors and residents of Kazakhstan.

CDC ??? ???Kazakhstan has said the government is “trying to close down certain sites that had no legal right to exist and did not serve any legitimate purpose.” The website run by a group of opposition activists called Pnasa, and the web pages for some of the internet portals for opposition leaders, are among those targeted. Kazakhstan said it was taking steps to shut down socia????l media accounts of those involved in the websites.

Kazakh authorities warned tha??t, “the implementation of measures, including blocking websites, will not have positive results if it remains an ongoing issue.”

It is estimated that tens of thousands of people live in some of the most heavily guarded cities, including Tashkent, Ulan-Ude and Nizhny Novgorod. The situation remains tense; the opposition, through its Internet Center in central Kazan, is working to stop its online presence and engage in peaceful activism.