Kyrgyzstan detains journalists in second day of raids

By: AFP
Published: 06:01 AM, 17 Jan, 2024
Kyrgyzstan detains journalists in second day of raids
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Kyrgyzstan detained at least 10 journalists from four different news outlets on Tuesday, the former Soviet republic's second day of raids targeting independent media.


Rights groups said the arrests pointed to a worrying trend of democratic backsliding in Kyrgyzstan, which used to enjoy more policial freedoms than its Central Asian peers.


Journalist Bolot Temirov, whose YouTube channel Temirov Live carries out anti-corruption investigations, said police had raided a number of outlets, including his, early on Tuesday.


"All our equipment was taken away in two cars," he wrote on social media.


He said his wife, Makhabat, was taken for questioning at the interior ministry and was prevented from speaking to her lawyer.


Journalists linked to the Western-leaning PolitKlinika news website and independent YouTube channels Ayt Ayt Dese and Archa Media were also detained, local media said.


Those detained on Tuesday had worked on investigations covering alleged corruption among Kyrgyz elites, including people close to the president, Reporters Without Borders said.


"This wave of arrests on dubious charges amounts to a purge of local investigative journalism," it said.


"Investigating corruption is not a crime and public force should not be used as a tool of intimidation," it continued.


The interior ministry said it made the arrests after finding material calling for "mass riots" on the social media pages of Ayt Ayt Dese and Temirov Live.


It did not provide details.


Kyrgyzstan has levelled charges against several independent news outlets and journalists over the past two years, including the US-funded Kloop Media and Radio Azattyk.


The arrests came a day after police targeted the major private news outlet 24.KG, detaining its chief editor and managing director over an article about the Ukraine war.


The country dropped 50 places in last year's World Press Freedom Index.






Categories : World