Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty President Jamie Fly made a statement in connection with freezing of Azattyk Media’s bank accounts.
«Such an escalation by the authorities of Kyrgyzstan is similar to a violation of the laws of the country. We will fight this attempt to silence our journalists,» he said, adding that Azattyk is a reliable source of information and it is necessary to ensure its unhindered operation.
Demir Bank earlier verbally reported that the media outlet’s accounts were blocked, and recommended to contact the State Committee for National Security for clarification. Azattyk has not received an official written notice from the financial institution. The security services promised to provide an answer later, but it still has not been received.
The Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports and Youth Policy of Kyrgyzstan suspended the work of Azattyk Media website for two months on October 26, referring to the law of the ex-deputy Gulshat Asylbayeva on protection from inaccurate (false) information. The reason was a video from Current Time (a TV channel created by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) titled «Heavy fighting on the border of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.» The material was also published on Azattyk Media website.
