Kyrgyzstan: recent crackdowns on independent media omct.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from omct.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Kyrgyz authorities ordered the detention of 11 independent journalists and conducted searches of their homes on Tuesday. According to attorney Zamir Zhooshev, the journalists are now held in custody for 48 hours, before the court decides to release them or to extend the detention.
Security agents in Kyrgyzstan raided the Bishkek offices of the news website 24.kg on January 15 and took the outlet's director-general, Asel Otorbaeva, and chief editor, Makhinur Niyazova, away for questioning. RFE/RL correspondents captured the moment offices were sealed off and computer equipment confiscated. Niyazova said the outlet faces criminal charges over an article it published on the war in Ukraine.
Security officers in Kyrgyzstan's capital, Bishkek, detained Asel Otorbaeva, the director-general of the 24.kg news website, and chief editor Makhinur Niyazova on January 15 after searching the independent media outlet's offices.