• Saipov murder case unsolved and beset by questions.
• Four journalists badly beaten; no arrests made.
76: Percentage of vote won by Kurmanbek Bakiyev in flawed presidential election.
The press climate deteriorated in this mountainous central Asian nation that once offered promise for democracy and free expression. The government’s erratic investigation into the unsolved 2007 murder of editor Alisher Saipov stained the nation’s law enforcement and press freedom record. At least four critical reporters were brutally attacked, and one fled the country in the face of continuing threats. An independent Russian-language newspaper closed after its staffers received anonymous threats.





