A journalist at an independent Kazakh newspaper says death threats have been rolling in since the publication of an article she wrote exposing a prostitution ring in western Kazakhstan, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. [Link]
Zhanara Davletova, a reporter for the regional Oral Weekly based in the city of Oral, told RFE/RL that she has been getting several phone calls daily from unknown people who are threatening her life. Her article includes a suggestion that a local hotel owner runs a brothel out of his hotel. There is also a claim that local police are taking hush money to cover up the illegal activities.
Local human rights activists say Oral Weekly is one of the few media outlets in the region that operates independently. A local police representative countered in an interview with RFE/RL that Oral Weekly frequently publishes unchecked facts and has been sued. Davletova says local police have refused to investigate the prostitution allegations.
