The Committee on Foreign Affairs of the U.S. House of Representatives commented on the claims of the Matraimovs against three media outlets — 24.kg news agency, Kloop and Azattyk. The statement was posted on Twitter.
The Committee calls on the Kyrgyz government to end pressure on journalists.
Recall, the plaintiffs are the deputy of the Parliament of Kyrgyzstan Iskender Matraimov, his wife Minovar Dzhumaeva, the former deputy head of the Customs Service Raiymbek Matraimov, his wife Uulkan Turgunova, as well as the Public Foundation named after Ismail Matraimov. The amount of the claims for the protection of honor and dignity amounted to: 22.5 million soms against Azattyk, 10 million against journalist Ali Toktakunov, 12.5 million against Kloop, 15 million against 24.kg news agency. Yesterday, the Sverdlovsky District Court of Bishkek unfroze the bank accounts of the three media outlets and journalist Ali Toktakunov.
