10:53, 03 февраля 2022, Bishkek - 24.kg news agency , Darya PODOLSKAYA
The Freedom of Speech Protection Committee commented on the case against Kaktus.media media outlet. According to the activists, the actions of the authorities exacerbate distrust of the authorities.
The statement says that ensuring the national security and integrity of the country is an absolute value. «Journalists and the media should be especially careful about such issues, and in connection with border and territorial problems between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, they should be extremely careful and thorough. The main principle here should be the desire not to harm or aggravate the problem,» the statement says.
It is specified that before, during and after the «one-day war» on April 29, 2021, the Tajik media were not particularly accurate. «Therefore, the uncritical reprinting of their messages about the beginning and causes of the new border incident that occurred on January 27, 2022, makes the staff of Kaktus.media portal an unwitting accomplice in a targeted disinformation campaign, if one was originally planned. However, the editors of the portal have already publicly apologized for the oversight,» the statement reads.
The Freedom of Speech Protection Committee considers the actions of the prosecutor’s office to be excessive and not conducive to the consolidation of society.
A rally was held near the office of Kaktus.media on January 28. The protesters demanded to shut down the media outlet, because the journalists gave information — a reprint from the Tajik Asia Plus website — about the conflict on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border. Later, the Prosecutor General’s Office sent out information that a criminal case had been initiated on the fact of the publication about the armed conflict in the border zone.