Foreigners can no longer own media in Kyrgyzstan

President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev approved amendments to the Law on Mass Media. Information Policy Department of the Presidential Administration reported.

The law details what is meant by the production of the media and its dissemination.

Article 5 sets the rights of legal entities to establish an information resource and sets restrictions on the participation of foreigners in domestic media in terms of owning shares in the authorized share capital. Set of people, having the right to establish media in Kyrgyzstan, is narrowed as much as possible. So, this or that channel in the sphere of television broadcasting can belong only to a citizen of the Kyrgyz Republic or a company registered in the republic.

Media founders in the Kyrgyz Republic can not be:

• Citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic under 18 or serving a sentence in places of deprivation of liberty on the basis of a court verdict or recognized incapable by the court;

• Legal entities, activities of which are prohibited by the court in the republic.

If any of the persons of the listed categories currently owns a media outlet, an information agency or a broadcasting company, he/she must alienate it within one year from the entry into force of the law in the manner prescribed by law in the field of media registration.

Media that have not been re-registered will be liquidated by a court decision.