A compromise version of the bill on the media has been submitted to the Parliament of Kyrgyzstan for consideration by deputies.
This is the sixth version of the law on the media, revised by the Ministry of Culture together with the media community and lawyers. The document provides for a ban on censorship and protection of sources of information.
In the proposed version of the bill, the media outlet is considered registered from the date of the decision of the Ministry of Justice on registration. The ministry maintains a register of media.
The editorial board, editor, journalist are not responsible for the dissemination of information that does not correspond to reality and discredits the honor and dignity, business reputation of individuals and legal entities, or infringes on the rights and legitimate interests of citizens, or harms the health and (or) development of children and minors, or constitutes an abuse of freedom of the media and (or) the rights of a journalist, if:
1) This information was contained in official documents and reports.
2) It was received from the press services of state and public bodies.
3) It is a verbatim reproduction of public speeches.
4) It was contained in speeches of citizens broadcast without prior recording.
5) The information is a verbatim reproduction of messages and materials or fragments thereof distributed by another media outlet that can be identified and held liable for this violation.
The draft law also obliges state bodies (except for bodies in the sphere of defense and national security), local government bodies, public associations, enterprises, and organizations to respond to journalistic inquiries within three working days.
The activities of a media outlet may be terminated or suspended only by decision of the founder or the court.
The grounds for termination of the activities of a media outlet by the court are repeated (more than twice) violations by the media outlet of the requirements of Part 1 of Article 5 of this law within 12 months, regarding which the authorized state body in the field of information has issued written warnings to the founder and (or) the editorial board (editor), which have not been fulfilled. Members of the working group on finalizing the bill on mass media asked to exclude this provision, but the Ministry of Culture left it in the document.
«We would like this provision to be removed. Over the course of a year, claims may arise against media outlets on far-fetched grounds. The group’s work was a compromise. In the end, for some reason, this point remained,» Dina Maslova, founder of Kaktus.Media, said.