Order of the Deputy Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Altynai Omurbekova to hold press conferences only at Kabar will not limit access to information. A lawyer Atyr Abdrakhmatova told.
According to her, «access to information» and «place for providing information» are different notions. Therefore, the order to hold events on providing information at Kabar only does not restrict access to information, especially for journalists. Other government agencies provide data on their sites. And it does not cause criticism.
Therefore, there is no violation of constitutional rights on access to information as well as violation of the law on access to information. If Altynai Omurbekova instructed state agencies to provide information first to Kabar, and then to other media, this would be a violation. Kabar in its work follows presidential decrees, and according to the law on regulatory and legal acts, a presidential decree is higher than any government act. They are simply obliged to follow it," Atyr Abdrakhmatova summed up.
Recall, Deputy Prime Minister Altynai Omurbekova instructed state agencies to give press conferences only at Kabar news agency. She explained this by the need to save budget funds. But media expert Gulnura Toralieva considers the document as a violation of the Constitution and the law on access to information, which is within the jurisdiction of state bodies.