Freedom of speech in Kazakhstan

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Freedom of speech in Kazakhstan is defined as the right guaranteed by the constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan to freely search, receive, transmit, produce and disseminate information in any legal way.

The non-governmental, non-profit organization Reporters Without Borders positioned Kazakhstan 160th out of 180 in the World Freedom Index in 2016.^[1] The only countries with lower positions in Central Asia are Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, 178th and 166th, respectively.

Since the independence of the country from the USSR in 1991, the restriction of freedom of speech has gotten worse and many opposition media have shut down.