The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on Kyrgyzstan authorities to abandon its latest threat to suspend independent investigative outlet Kloop if it does not remove a September 1 article containing allegedly false information.
«Following their recent application to shutter the outlet and now their threat to block its website, Kyrgyz authorities’ appetite for retaliation against Kloop for its uncompromising anti-corruption reporting appears to know no bounds,» said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. «Authorities in Kyrgyzstan must cease all efforts to silence Kloop and repeal the false information law, which has once again proven its only purpose is to shield officials from criticism.»
On Thursday, September 7, Kloop received a letter from Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Culture, Information, Sport and Youth Policy warning that if the outlet didn’t remove a September 1 article within 48 hours its website would be blocked under the country’s false information law. The letter did not specify which information was false and followed a complaint against the outlet by the State Committee for National Security.
Kloop does not intend to remove the report, the outlet’s co-founder Bektour Iskender told CPJ, and the outlet has filed a complaint with the ministry.
It was reported on August 28 that Bishkek prosecutor Emilbek Abdymanapov filed a lawsuit in court to liquidate Kloop.Media public foundation.
The lawsuit, in particular, states that «most of the publications are of a negative nature, aimed at discrediting representatives of state and municipal bodies», «Kloop.Media publications contain hidden manipulations of the opinion of the society, which are imposed negative processes that do not correspond to reality, and create opposition to any undertakings of the current government».
The prosecutor cites several headlines and materials from Kloop.kg, which, according to the oversight body, are sharply critical of the government.
The prosecutor’s office also accuses the public foundation of concealing a large amount of funds.
