General Director of 24.kg news agency Asel Otorbaeva appealed to the State Committee for National Security of Kyrgyzstan (SCNS) with a request to lift the arrest from the office and property of the news agency. This is stated in the petition addressed to Erlan Akynbekov, Senior Investigator for Particularly Important Cases of the Main Investigative Department of the SCNS.
In the letter, the media outlet’s management notes that they do not know why and on what basis access to the premises is limited.
There were no negative consequences or resonance recorded regarding the controversial publication. There is no material damage in the criminal case under investigation.
From the letter of 24.kg news agency to SCNS
As noted, according to the law, when seizing property, the person in charge of the criminal case, with the consent of the prosecutor, issues a resolution to initiate before the investigating judge a petition to seize the property of the suspect, accused, person responsible for compensation for material damage and (or) moral damage.
«An arrest may be imposed on property held by other persons if there are reasonable grounds to believe that it was obtained as a result of the criminal actions of the suspect, accused, or was used or intended to be used as an instrument or means of a crime,» the letter says.
The petition notes that «the management of 24.kg news agency was not provided with a protocol of the seized property; the reason for sealing the office is also unknown to the editors.»
Employees of the State Committee for National Security came to the office of 24.kg news agency on January 16 at about 11 a.m. General Director Asel Otorbaeva, Editors-in-Chief Anton Lymar and Makhinur Niyazova were taken for interrogation. Equipment and personal mobile phones of employees were confiscated. The SCNS said that the search at 24.kg news agency was conducted as part of a criminal case under the article «Propaganda of War» of the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic.
On January 17, Asel Otorbaeva and Makhinur Niyazova were again summoned for questioning by the SCNS.
