Kyrgyzstan’s journalists fear yet another hurdle to freedom of speech · Global Voices
A new law against “manipulating information” online worries Kyrgyzstan's journalists and activists. Illustration (c): <PERSON>. Used with permission.
What's it like to be a journalist in a small Central Asian state? What's it like to fight for the right to speak the truth? In cases of emergency, can journalists count on the protection of the state and human rights organisations, or will the state turn out to be their main obstacle? When writing these words, why am I wondering whether the authorities might give me a call and invite me to answer a few questions?
Kyrgyzstan comes 83rd out of the 180 countries ranked in Reporters Without Borders’ 2020 Press Freedom Index. This is a small improvement on the previous year; the international organisation notes that the pluralism of Kyrgyzstan's media is exceptional for Central Asia (its neighbours Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan came 158th, 161st, and 160th respectively.)
Nevertheless, some journalists fear the further erosion of press freedom. On June 25, Kyrgyzstan's parliament passed a law against “manipulating information.” The bill will allow the authorities to block websites containing “untruthful information,” but does not clarify who will make such an assessment or how.
The bill has been strongly criticised by international and Kyrgyz rights defenders alike; the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) characterises it as an assault on press freedom. While voting was held, 150 people protested in front of the parliament building in Bishkek against what they called an attack on freedom of speech. <PERSON>, the parliamentary deputy who submitted the bill, has fiercely defended it against criticism. On June 19, she stated that the online response nearly gave her a heart attack, and on June 25 complained that journalists were not covering the bill objectively, suggesting on Facebook that angry online discussions around it were themselves examples of “manipulation.”
The TV host <PERSON> changed his social media avatars in silent protest:
#НовыйАватар pic.twitter.com/fGu6ov2ZrM
— <PERSON> (<PERSON>) June 25, 2020
These fears are grounded in suspicion that the bill could be used to silence Kyrgyzstan's small but dedicated network of online independent news outlets, which have become known for their investigative journalism in recent years.
Learning from experience
Many in Kyrgyzstan are proud of the country's reputation as an island of freedom of speech, at least in the context of a very authoritarian neighbourhood. 148
Recent incidents of attacks and harassment against the press have taught the country's journalists to be cautious.
For example, in March 2017 the online publications Zanoza (today called Kaktus.Media), RFE/RL's Kyrgyz-language service Azattyk, the journalist <PERSON>, the human rights activist <PERSON>, and two lawyers from the opposition party Ata-Meken opposition party, were accused of disseminating “false” information. The Prosecutor General's Office filed charges accusing them of insulting the honour and dignity of <PERSON>, the former president who was sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment on corruption charges on June 23. Soon after a visit by RFE/RL director <PERSON> to Kyrgyzstan, <PERSON> decided to drop his lawsuit against Azattyk. In May, Freedom House voiced concern about the Kyrgyz authorities’ attacks on independent media and human rights defenders.
Another wave of harassment of journalists began after Azattyk and its media partners OCCRP and Kloop published a high-profile investigation in May 2019. It claimed that approximately 700 million US dollars had been illicitly transferred out of the country with the involvement of <PERSON>, a Chinese businessman of Uyghur origin.
A follow-up investigation was published on November 21. It stated that <PERSON>, who was assassinated in Istanbul on November 10, had provided extensive evidence to journalists which implicated several powerful people in Kyrgyzstan in the illicit transfers. According to <PERSON>, one of these was the former deputy chief of Kyrgyzstan's State Customs Service, <PERSON> and his allies.
On November 26, Kyrgyzstan's Prosecutor General announced that <PERSON> had siphoned $932,736,000 from Kyrgyzstan into overseas bank accounts. <PERSON>, brother of the former customs official, strongly denied the journalists’ accusations that he or his businesses benefitted from the scheme, and took Kloop, Azattyk, and OCCRP to court for defamation in October. In December, the case was dismissed. 409