Miklos Haraszti, the OSCE representative on freedom of the media, has called on Kazakhstan to repeal its media law criminalizing the criticism of state officials. In a statement, Haraszti criticized Article 318 of the Kazakh criminal code, or Kazakhstan\'s so-called \"insult laws,\" as being \"contrary to modern democratic practice.\" Opposition Kazakh journalist Kazis Toguzbaev was handed a two-year suspended sentence on January 22 for the \"infringement on the honor and dignity of the president.\" The sentence stems from Toguzbaev\'s publication of several critical articles posted on www.kub.kz that criticized Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev in connection with the murder of opposition leader Altynbek Sarsenbaev and two aides. In his statement, Haraszti specifically stressed that \"for the sake of free public discussion, public officials, especially [heads of state,] should exercise a greater degree of tolerance towards criticism, even if that criticism is expressed in a negative or harsh manner.\" (RFE/RL)