CPJ Calls for End to Pressure on PolitKlinika
International organization, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), has called on the authorities of Kyrgyzstan to stop putting pressure on the independent Kyrgyz-language media outlet, PolitKlinika. The CPJ’s statement was made in response to the interrogation of PolitKlinika’s Editor-in-Chief, Dilbar Alimova, by the State Committee for National Security on May 6th. Alimova had published an article about a letter allegedly written by Nurlanbek Shakiev, the speaker of the Kyrgyz Parliament, which requested the rehabilitation of the fugitive president, Kurmanbek Bakiyev. The press service of the Parliament has since claimed that the letter number and signature were fake.
The CPJ has released a statement asking that Kyrgyz authorities let media outlets work without fear of legal harassment. PolitKlinika temporarily removed the article about the letter in question from their website, but the CPJ’s statement addresses the larger issue of ensuring that independent news sources are free to report without intimidation.