Prominent journalist killed in southern Kyrgyzstan
New York, October 25, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s murder in southern Kyrgyzstan of Alisher Saipov, editor of the independent Uzbek-language weekly Siyosat (Politics)and contributor to several regional news outlets. Saipov was shot three times at a close range at around 7 p.m. in downtown Osh, a city bordering Uzbekistan, by an unknown…
Prominent journalist killed in southern Kyrgyzstan
New York, October 24, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s murder in southern Kyrgyzstan of Alisher Saipov, editor of the independent Uzbek-language weekly Siyosat (Politics)and contributor to several regional news outlets. Saipov was shot three times at a close range at around 7 p.m. in downtown Osh, a city bordering Uzbekistan, by an unknown…
Scorecard: KYRGYZSTAN
Positives: Bakiyev administration shows a more tolerant attitude toward press coverage. President agrees to transform state broadcaster KTR into an independent public station. Negatives: Administration names loyalists to top state media positions, pressures media to tone down coverage. Attacks on journalists and press facilities continue. Bakiyev fails to follow through on pledge to decriminalize libel.
Journalists attacked, threatened amid growing political tensions
New York, April 9, 2007-The Committee to Protect Journalists is disturbed by an attack and threats against several provincial journalists amid escalating political tension between Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev and opposition leaders calling for his resignation. “It’s the responsibility of journalists to report on political demonstrations and we are deeply concerned that journalists in Kyrgyzstan…
Television anchor severely beaten in Bishkek
March 27, 2007 Posted: April 2, 2007 Daniyar Isanov, New TV Net (NTS) ATTACKED Four unidentified men approached Isanov, a news anchor for NTS, and asked him for a cigarette as the journalist was leaving the Kyrgyzfilm cinema in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek at around 9 p.m., according to local press reports.
Television reporter attacked, sued, after critical broadcast
New York, March 21, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the recent beating of a television journalist who reported on corruption at a railroad company in Kyrgyzstan. Kairat Birimkulov, reporter for the Kyrgyz main state broadcaster Government TV and Radio Company (GTRK), was attacked by two unidentified men on March 16 near his…
Attacks on the Press 2006: Kyrgyzstan
KYRGYZSTAN Months of discontent over President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s failure to enact reforms to combat crime, corruption, and economic woes boiled over in November when thousands of protesters gathered for a week of demonstrations in the central square of the capital, Bishkek. Bakiyev, ushered into office in a popular uprising just 19 months earlier, averted a…
Attacks on the Press 2005: Europe & Central Asia Analysis
Free Expression Takes a Back SeatBy Alex Lupis To gain military footing and access to energy resources in the former Soviet empire, the United States has diverted its attention from human rights and press freedom issues in Eurasia. The U.S. policy of close cooperation with the region’s authoritarian leaders has undermined free and independent reporting in…
Attacks on the Press 2005: Kyrgyzstan
KYRGYZSTAN In a dramatic turnaround, public outrage over fraudulent parliamentary elections forced President Askar Akayev out of office after 14 years of authoritarian rule in this Central Asian nation. The Akayev administration’s aggressively repressive media policies gave way in midyear to a more tolerant press freedom climate under Kurmanbek Bakiyev and his new government. A…