Paris, November 7. The international organisation Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has included Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in its list of 33 “predators of press freedom” for 2026, published on November 2, the organisation said.
RSF publishes the list on November 2, the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists. It contains portraits of 33 politicians, companies and organisations that, in RSF’s view, attacked journalists and media in 2026. Tokayev is named in the “Law” category: RSF puts him among those who persecute the press by launching what it considers unfounded lawsuits against journalists and media. In the same category, according to RSF’s text, are Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the conglomerate of Indian businessman Gautam Adani. The list also includes US President Donald Trump, with the United States ranked 64th in the RSF index, while Bidzina Ivanishvili and the companies Alphabet and Meta represent the “Economy” category.
RSF itself spells out the nature of the list: it is an ironic anti-ranking, like the Golden Raspberry in film. It “does not claim to be fully objective” and names those who, in the organisation’s assessment, showed a clear intent to harm journalism over the past year. Tokayev, according to Fergana, was the only representative of Central Asia on the 2026 list, the agency reports.
In RSF’s 2026 World Press Freedom Index Kazakhstan ranked 149th of 180 countries with 34.41 points out of 100, eight places lower than in 2025 (141st), KazTAG reported on April 30. Next to it in the table are Kyrgyzstan (146th), Uzbekistan (147th) and Tajikistan (155th). In March 2024 RSF had already issued a report on Tokayev’s five years in office titled “unfulfilled promises and growing media censorship,” according to the organisation’s publication.
What it means: The “press freedom predators” is not a ranking of countries but a list of specific people and structures RSF holds responsible for pressure on the press. Tokayev appears in it as a head of state whose authorities, in the organisation’s view, use the courts against journalists; the assessment belongs to RSF, while Kazakhstan took 149th place in the organisation’s index in April.
Background: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is an international non-governmental organisation headquartered in Paris that has compiled the World Press Freedom Index since 2002. The “predators” list complements the index and names those it holds responsible for violations of media freedom.
