Media Policy Institute is outraged by the attack on the Editor of Factcheck.kg website Bolot Temirov. Statement of the organization says.
We consider this attack as a demonstrative act to intimidate our colleague, who is engaged in journalistic investigations in the country.
Media Policy Institute
«Kyrgyzstan is a new democracy, whose journalists are fiercely struggling with degeneration of our society — corruption. It is difficult to overestimate the work of journalists and free media in the fight against this problem in the absence of any response from the authorities,» the statement says.
The Media Policy Institute stresses that journalists are looking for the truth, looking for justice. They want to find answers to questions whether there was abuse of power for personal gain. Whether there was any misappropriation of public goods and services? Did some officials earn their wealth honestly, with the help of what they earned it? They want to find out where they got these initial resources from, was the land or goods that allowed them to earn so much money stolen?
Answers to all these questions before the elections will allow society to understand whether we are moving in the right direction as a state. Answers to these questions will allow the republic to start investigations and give us, the public, information.
«We believe that the attack on journalist Bolot Temirov in this context is an encroachment on the right of society to be informed. We urge senior officials to publicly condemn this act of intimidation of journalists in order to show their attitude to such incidents and help prevent them in the future,» the statement adds.
We demand from law enforcement agencies, in accordance with the law and professional duties, to make every effort to quickly identify and hold perpetrators accountable.
Media Policy Institute
Journalists must be safe to carry out their professional activities without being intimidated, threatened or attacked.
Recall, the attack on the journalist occurred today at about 12.30 in the center of Bishkek. Police officers work at the scene. Bolot Temirov undergoes a medical examination.
