IPI and its global network welcome the Bishkek City Court鈥檚 decision to annul an April shut down order for , the Kyrgyz service of the U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster . The ruling clears the way for the broadcaster to return online after being blocked since October of last year. IPI had previously condemned the decision to block Radio Azattyk and had repeatedly called on Kyrgyzstan to overturn the ban.聽
“As a result of concerted advocacy and support from the international community, Radio Azattyk will continue to reach its audiences with trusted reporting,鈥� Dr. Jeffrey Gedmin said in a statement.
The to reverse the April ruling was announced on July 12 at an appeal hearing at the Bishkek City Court, during which between Radio Azattyk and Kyrgyzstan鈥檚 Ministry of Culture was finalized, effectively settling the case. It also comes as the European Parliament was set to on the crackdown on the media and freedom of expression in Kyrgyzstan.聽
鈥淚PI welcomes the Bishkek City Court鈥檚 decision reversing the ban on . This decision is good news for press freedom and for the Kyrgyz public鈥檚 right to information鈥�, IPI Deputy Director Scott Griffen said.
He added: 鈥淗owever, we underscore that the order to shut down Radio Azattyk was wrong from the beginning. The outlet should never have been punished for publishing information that the government did not agree with. Amid what has been a steadily worsening environment for media freedom in Kyrgyzstan, we hope that this decision marks a turn toward greater respect for the media as a fundamental pillar of democracy. In particular, Kyrgyzstan鈥檚 authorities must take urgent steps to prevent the abuse of legal provisions to restrict the work of the press and repeal laws that are not in line with international standards on freedom of expression.鈥�
Last month, IPI signed a joint letter to the Kyrgyz government calling on authorities to refrain from developing and implementing ambiguous and overbroad legislation that can be misused to target and censor independent media and journalists, including the country鈥檚 false information law.
Banned after publication of video
Nine months ago, authorities in the Central Asian state blocked access to Radio Azattyk’s websites after the outlet鈥檚 sister television station published a video reporting on a Kyrgyz-Tajik border dispute. Kyrgyz authorities claimed the video鈥檚 producers were on the side of Tajikistan, and had about the conflict, a violation of Kyrgyzstan鈥檚 highly controversial Law on Protection from False Information, which was passed in 2021.
Radio Azattyk鈥檚 bank account was subsequently , and the accreditations of 11 RFE/RL parliamentary correspondents were suspended. On April 27, following a lawsuit and pressure from the Ministry of Culture, the Lenin District Court ruled that Radio Azattyk over its refusal to take down the video.聽
The July 12 settlement reached by Radio Azattyk and the Ministry of Culture adjusts the 鈥済eneral content storage protocols鈥� on RFE/RL websites, meaning the video that led to the lawsuit will no longer be accessible.聽
IPI has advocated on behalf of Radio Azattyk and repeatedly called for the April decision to be reversed. The suspension of Radio Azattyk was also widely criticized by international human rights organizations, Kyrgyz politicians, celebrities, and journalists, who saw the legal action as an overt attempt to silence Radio Azattyk鈥檚 reporting of , as then-RFE/RL President and CEO Jamie Fly called it at the time.聽
Since President Sadyr Japarov came to power in 2021, Kyrgyzstan鈥檚 media environment has steadily deteriorated as part of generalized democratic backsliding in the country. Last October, President Japarov鈥檚 administration proposed a new media law which would seriously hamper the work of journalists in the country. In late May, a group of Kyrgyz MPs proposed a bill, modeled on Russian legislation, amending a Kyrgyz law regulating non-profit organizations that could be used to suppress independent media and civil society.