The Leninsky District Court of Bishkek satisfied the claim of the Ministry of Culture and ordered the closure of Azattyk Media (the Kyrgyz service of Radio Liberty). Representatives of the publication intend to appeal against the decision of the court.
The ministry called the reluctance of the publication to remove material about the conflict that took place in September 2022 on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border as the reason for going to court.
We are talking about the broadcast of the program “Present Time. Asia” (subordinate structure of “Azattyk Media”), which was released in September 2022 under the heading “Heavy fighting on the border of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan”.
According to The Insider's correspondent in Kyrgyzstan, an Azattyk Media employee said on air that, according to Tajik authorities, the Kyrgyz attacked first.
“After April 2021, the rhetoric regarding these clashes has changed dramatically. In Kyrgyzstan, this is no longer called a border conflict, where coverage of both sides is acceptable. This is called an invasion. And when it comes to “invasion”, then, of course, there can be no other side.”
The Ministry of Culture of Kyrgyzstan stated that the video contains "elements of hate speech, unconfirmed information that escalates the situation in society."
As noted by human rights activists, the Kyrgyz authorities have recently stepped up efforts to control and censor the media amid the ongoing crackdown on freedom of speech and civil society.
In September 2022, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan accused each other of violating previously reached ceasefire agreements. Fierce clashes began on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border.