Kyrgyzstan

The Kyrgyz authorities should drop criminal cases of “war propaganda” and “calls to mass disorder” initiated against several independent media outlets, including 24.KG, Temirov Live, Ayt Ayt Dese, Alga Media, Archa Media, and Politklinika, launched in clear retaliation for their independent reporting, Human Rights Watch, Civil Rights Defenders, International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), Norwegian Helsinki Committee, People in Need, World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), and Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights said today in a joint statement. Authorities should stop intimidating and harassing journalists, and allow them to carry out their work without obstruction.