The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called for Kyrgyzstan to repeal a law, newly ratified on Tuesday by President Sadyr Japarov, that requires some nonprofits, including media organizations, to register as «foreign representatives.»
«President Sadyr Japarov’s decision to follow Russia’s lead on «foreign agent» legislation threatens to erase Kyrgyzstan’s 30-year status as a relative haven of free speech and democracy in post-Soviet Central Asia,» said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. «While the law’s current form does not directly target media outlets, it could cripple the work of press freedom groups and nonprofits running several of Kyrgyzstan’s celebrated independent media organizations and must be repealed.»
Similar to Russia’s foreign agent legislation, the law requires nonprofits that receive foreign funding and engage in what it defines as political activities to register as «foreign representatives.»
It will go into effect 10 days after its official publication.
Submitted to parliament in May 2023, the bill drew widespread international criticism, including from CPJ, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The Parliament of Kyrgyzstan adopted in the third reading the bill on «foreign representatives» (analogous to foreign agent law in Russian legislation), officially known as the draft law «On Amendments to the Law «On Non-Profit Organizations».
The President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov signed the law on April 2.
