U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Jim Risch sent a letter to the President of Kyrgyzstan calling for an end to the persecution of journalists and unblocking of Azattyk website. The text is published on the official website of the Senate.
Sadyr Japarov was reminded of the commitment of Kyrgyzstan to the protection of human rights, as well as the fact that laws against the media, blocking websites and bank accounts are not protection of rights.
The senators also noted that the country’s authorities, in addition to international norms, violate the Constitution.
«We call upon the Kyrgyz government to immediately lift the restrictions on Radio Azattyk, to cease unlawful attacks on free and independent media, and to investigate all credible threats of violence against journalists. Recalling your commitment to uphold human rights and the rule of law, we urge you to establish conditions for independent media to freely operate and to ensure Kyrgyz journalists can carry out their work without fear of retaliation,» the letter says.
On October 27, the Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports and Youth Policy of Kyrgyzstan announced that it had suspended the operation of Radio Azattyk website for two months. The ministry noted that on September 16, the Current Time resource (subordinate structure of Azattyk Media) published a video entitled «Heavy fighting on the border of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan», in which «elements of hate speech, unconfirmed information about the alleged attack by the Kyrgyz side on Tajikistan were used, as well as information that aggravates the situation in society and causes hatred, discrimination and division among citizens when covering events in Batken region.»
In a statement issued the same day, RFE/RL President Jamie Fly said the broadcaster had reviewed the content in question and found «no violation of standards.»
