Director of the Kyrgyz service of Radio Liberty Venera Dzhumataeva commented on the situation with blocking of Azattyk Media and the statement of the Ministry of Culture, Information, Youth Policy and Sports to the court on the termination of the activity of the institution as a media outlet.
According to Venera Dzhumataeva, the work of the editorial office has not changed after the websites were blocked. She expressed the opinion that at the present time it is technically impossible to completely shut down the media outlet.
«We are working as we have worked before. It impossible to shut down the media outlet from a technical point of view. We will continue to write about Kyrgyzstan, cover events and disseminate information in the Kyrgyz language around the world,» the head of the media said.
She thanked the journalists and human rights activists for supporting Azattyk and stressed that the authorities had not stopped the negotiation process and expressed readiness to find ways out of the current situation.
«What is happening now does not concern only Radio Azattyk — courts, blocking of websites and freezing of bank accounts... This generally creates tension and concern in society,» Venera Dzhumataeva said.
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.»
Kyrgyzstan’s media community has expressed its concern over the Kyrgyz government’s continued harassment of independent journalists and attempts to restrict media freedom, saying that the ministry should withdraw the lawsuit.
As the human rights activists note, Kyrgyz authorities have recently increased efforts to control and censor mass media amid a continued crackdown on freedom of expression and civil society.
