OSCE Programme Office in Astana supports training course for lawyers on legal protection against hate speech

An OSCE-supported seminar for lawyers and media lawyers on effective legal protection against hate speech took place in Almaty on 29 May 2017.

Some 30 lawyers and media lawyers from Almaty discussed international best practices for dealing with hate speech cases, learned how to build effective defence strategies in court and analyzed legal cases under Article 174 of Kazakhstan’s criminal code: “Incitement of social, national, racial, clan or religious hatred”.

The participants were also introduced to tools and mechanisms to counter hate speech in the media and on the Internet, to reduce the potential harm from a malicious Internet environment and counter destructive behaviour such as trolling, cyber-bullying and hate speech.

The seminar was led by experts from Legal Media Centre, a non-governmental organization based in Kazakhstan, and the Mass Media Defence Centre, a non-governmental organization working in the field of media rights protection and the promotion of freedom of expression standards in the Russian Federation.

The event was co-organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Astana and the Legal Media Centre. It is in line with the OSCE Programme Office’s activities aimed at promoting media freedom and freedom of expression in the host country.