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Stockholm, January 16, 2024 - The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights
Defenders (FIDH-OMCT) is concerned about the recent crackdowns on independent media in Kyrgyzstan. Human rights groups urge Kyrgyz authorities to respect the freedom of the press and cease their repressive actions.
Kyrgyzstan: Charges, Raids Against Independent Media, Journalists Detained, Equipment Confiscated, Censorship.
The Kyrgyz authorities should drop
criminal cases of “war propaganda” and “calls to mass disorder”
initiated against several independent media outlets, eight human rights
groups said today in a joint statement.
The media organizations facing
charges include independent news agency 24.KG and critical news outlets
Temirov Live, Ayt Ayt Dese, Alga Media, Archa Media, and Politklinika,
all in clear retaliation for their independent reporting. In an
escalation of pressure on independent media. Kyrgyz law enforcement
agents and security services on January 15 and 16, 2024, y carried out
early morning raids targeting media outlets and reporters. The
authorities should stop intimidating and harassing journalists and allow
them to carry out their work without obstruction.
The groups issuing that statement
are Civil Rights Defenders, Human Rights Watch, International
Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), Norwegian Helsinki Committee,
People in Need, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, and International
Federation for Human Rights and World Organisation Against Torture
within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human
Rights Defenders.
On January 16, Kyrgyz police raided
the homes of at least 10 current and former journalists with Temirov
Live, Ayt Ayt Dese, Alga Media, Archa Media, and Politklinika,
confiscated equipment and detained several of them for interrogation, Kyrgyz media reported.
According to 24.KG, Kyrgyz police said in a statement that the raids
and detentions were part of a criminal investigation under Article 278.3
of the Criminal Code, which penalizes “calls to disobedience and mass
riots.”
The Interior Ministry’s press service told local media
that the agency opened the investigation after linguistic experts,
commissioned by the police in late December 2023, allegedly concluded
that some publications contained signs of such calls. It is unclear what
publications these charges concern. The Criminal Code provision is
vaguely worded and has repeatedly been used to initiate criminal charges against critics of the authorities. It provides for penalties up to eight years in prison.
On January 15,
the Kyrgyz State Committee on National Security raided the newsroom in
Bishkek of the independent news agency 24.KG, confiscated equipment and detained
the outlet’s director Asel Otorbayeva and its two chief editors
Makhinur Niyazova and Anton Lymar, holding them for nearly four hours
for interrogation. The security agency also confiscated mobile phones of
other 24.KG reporters, sent them home, and sealed the office, local media reported. A post
on X, formerly Twitter, on January 15 from the 24.KG account said:
“24.KG newsroom is being raided. GKNB agents are in the premises. [Our]
Lawyers are barred entry.”
Citing the security agency’s press service, Kyrgyz media reported
that the agency took actions against 24.KG in connection with a
criminal case the agency had initiated. on charges of “war propaganda”
under article 407 of the
Kyrgyz Criminal Code. The agency said that the Pervomayski District
Court in Bishkek had approved the raid. This criminal provision carries a
sentence of heavy fines or imprisonment of up to seven years with a ban
on carrying out professional activities for up to three years.
Before being taken for interrogation, Niyazova told journalists
that the criminal case against 24.KG was related to its reporting on
the war in Ukraine. Upon their release Niyazova and her colleagues told
journalists that they had been required to sign a non-disclosure
agreement for the duration of the criminal investigation, so were unable
to share any further information.
The outlet’s lawyers reported
being denied access to the 24.KG office during the raid as well as to
the 24.KG representatives during their interrogation on security agency
premises.
The actions against 24.KG and others
come in the context of a worsening campaign against free speech in
Kyrgyzstan and are likely to reinforce a climate of fear among
independent media outlets, the groups issuing the joint statement said.
In the last few years , independent media and journalists, bloggers and others
critical of the Kyrgyz government’s policies have faced increasing
pressure, including politically motivated criminal cases, arrests, and imprisonment.
The websites of independent news sites have been arbitrarily blocked
and the authorities have attempted to close down media organizations
because of their independent reporting, such as in an ongoing court case against Kloop and an earlier case against the Kyrgyz service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, in which its bank account was frozen.
Previously another independent outlet, Kaktus Media,
came under investigation on charges of war propaganda because of its
reporting on hostilities at Kyrgyzstan’s border with Tajikistan. Bolot Temirov,
a journalist at Temirov Live whose wife and colleagues were targeted by
the raids on January 16, was stripped of his citizenship and deported
because of his outlet’s investigations into high-level corruption.
Freedom of expression in Kyrgyzstan will further deteriorate if a repressive draft media law,
which is currently under consideration in parliament , is adopted. The
draft law would significantly expand government control over the media,
and grant the authorities wide powers to deny media outlets
registration, obstruct their work, and close them down. The draft media
law has been severely criticised by the media community, human rights groups and international human rights experts. On January, 15, the parliamentary committee on international affairs postponed its consideration of the draft law, saying it needed additional revisions.
The Kyrgyz authorities to take
immediate and decisive steps to bring the country’s respect for press
freedom in accordance with its international obligations, in particular
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the
groups said. They should immediately cease their repressive actions
against independent media outlets and journalists, and allow them to
report on events in the country and the rest of the world without fear
of retribution. The authorities should also refrain from pursuing the
draft media law in its current format. The Kyrgyz authorities’ respect
for freedom of expression should be an important consideration by the EU
and other actors seeking closer engagement with the country.
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