The Pervomaisky District Court of Bishkek considered a motion brought by the Prosecutor General’s Office to stop broadcasting of the Next TV channel in Kyrgyzstan.
Judge Ainura Satarova ruled to uphold the motion by the Prosecutor General’s Office in part and recognize the Next TV publication as extremist.
However, the court denied the Prosecutor General’s Office’s statement on shutdown of the Next TV channel and ban on distribution of its products on other resources in the country.
Director of Next TV channel Taalai Duishenbiev was detained on March 3 and placed in the pre-trial detention center of the State Committee for National Security for two months under Article 330 «Inciting racial, ethnic, national, religious and interregional hatred (discord).» According to investigators, the TV channel, using resources in social media, is spreading false information about an allegedly reached agreement on the provision of military assistance by Kyrgyzstan to Russia during a special operation on the territory of Ukraine. The media referred to the former head of the State Security Committee of Kazakhstan as a source of information.
The Investigative Journalism Foundation calls to end pressure on the media. The Ombudsman asks the SCNS and the judiciary to respect the freedom of journalists.
