By empty (7/16/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
A district court in Almaty on Thursday fined the opposition Assandi-Times newspaper 50 million tenge (135.4 tenge/$1) for libeling the president in a statement accusing him and his retinue of complicity in publishing a forged issue of the paper. The court seized the paper\'s assets and froze its bank account to make sure that Assandi-Times pays the fine.
A district court in Almaty on Thursday fined the opposition Assandi-Times newspaper 50 million tenge (135.4 tenge/$1) for libeling the president in a statement accusing him and his retinue of complicity in publishing a forged issue of the paper. The court seized the paper\'s assets and froze its bank account to make sure that Assandi-Times pays the fine. The newspaper was also told to retract its statement and apologize to the president, its defense attorney Sergei Utkin told Interfax on Friday. Utkin said the paper will appeal the court ruling. (Interfax-Kazakhstan)