Prosecutor’s office of Bishkek has filed a suit for liquidation of public foundation “Kloop Media”, which includes the online media outlet Kloop.kg. According to experts, this is an alert for everyone warning that actions and policies of authorities may not be criticised.
The official reason is “carrying out activities falling beyond the scope of the charter.” According to the suit, Kloop Media is not listed in the public register of media outlets, while the entity’s charter does not specify distribution of information.
Editor-in-chief of Kloop.kg Anna Kapushenko said that lawyers of the entity are now examining the case and will present the defence in the case.
“We don’t have a law prohibiting online media outlets, if they are not registered as media, from publishing information. We will be contesting it,” she said.
However, most of the claim is about how the outlet’s activity affects Kyrgyzstanis negatively. According to a number of examinations, journalists of the media outlet used “direct and hidden methods” to “shape negative opinion about the policy pursued by the Kyrgyz authorities in power and the government programme in whole.”
“The materials provided in publications by Kloop contain psychological influence on consciousness and thinking of citizens. Constant negative statements, videos and comments can change perception of most people of Kyrgyzstan, namely, cause dissatisfaction with authorities and government programme,” according to the claim.
The document also noted that materials by Kloop.kg “zombify” people and “are very useful in arranging protests and revolutions.”
“It can happen any time like a “last straw”, when most of people will be ready to counter the existing legislative programme. This is the purpose of Kloop, which publishes compromising materials and reports on a regular basis.”
Moreover, according to the statement, publications by the media outlet develop “social stress-based mental disorders with aggressive criminal behaviour, sexual anomalies, chemical and non-chemical forms of addiction, suicidal thoughts, and other social adaptation disorders.”
Neither the first, nor the last
In the last two years, dozens of cases of detention of journalists and bloggers, cyber bullying, criminal cases against media outlets, blockages and attempted closure took place in Kyrgyzstan. Very often, independent media outlets and journalists who publish criticism of authorities catch attention.
According to her, this way authorities try to make undesirables keep silent, to introduce censorship in the country, to lean on, etc.
Kloop.kg is one of few independent media outlets in Kyrgyzstan, which regularly publishes journalistic investigations of corruption schemes. And she has no doubt about the outcome of the trial.
“We think the situation would be as follows: all suits would be accepted, and our organisation would be a defender, and based on all tendencies, we think that Kloop Media would be liquidated and its existence will be stopped,” editor of Kloop.kg said.
She added that the outlet would continue its operation as usual, even if the outlet was blocked. They have prepared for it and created the ‘mirror’ site.
Shortly before the suit against Kloop.kg, GKNB detained writer Olzhobai Shakir. He was charged under article “Calls for active disobedience to legal requirements of public officers and for mass disorders” (article 278, part 3, Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic). The Pervomaisky District Court of Bishkek placed the writer into the pre-trial detention centre of GKNB on August 24 until October 23.
According to GKNB, the political writer made “provocative publications that contained calls for active disobedience to legal requirements of public officers and for mass disorders.” Before that, Olzhobai Shakir wrote on his Facebook account that he was going to hold protest on August 31 against the transfer of four resorts at Lake Issyk-Kul to Uzbekistan.
In 2022, authorities blocked the websites of Azattyk Media and ResPublica and suspended the broadcast of Next TV on the charge of inciting interethnic hatred. A criminal case was initiated against Taalaibek Duishenbiev, director of the TV channel, who received 5-year suspended prison sentence.
In mid-December 2022, authorities deported investigating journalist Bolot Temirov from Kyrgyzstan because of “illegal receipt of a national passport of the Kyrgyz Republic”.
On January 2023, blogger Adilet Ali Myktybek, known as Adilet Baltabai, was sent to the penal colony for 5 years right from the courtroom. He was actively speaking out against some decisions of the authorities in power.
On January 23 it became known that the ministry of culture, information, sport and youth policy filed a lawsuit regarding full termination of operations of Azattyk Media in Kyrgyzstan. The reason was the video material about the conflict on the border of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan on September 14-17, 2022. According to the agency, the media resource violated article 23 of the law “On mass media”, which reads inadmissibility of propaganda of war, violence and cruelty, ethnic, religious exceptionalism and intolerance to other nations and ethnicities.
In April, the Leninsky District Court of Bishkek complied with the suit of the ministry of culture against Azattyk regarding termination of operations. In July, the media outlet removed the video and the Bishkek City Court approved the amicable agreement between Azattyk Media and ministry of culture and revoked the decision of the previous court.
Pessimistic expectations
Moreover, a new draft law “On mass media” is still being revised. The presidential administration of Kyrgyzstan submitted the first draft of the document, which was criticised both by the media community and by lawyers, in autumn 2022. Later on, officials agreed to establish a task group of journalists, independent lawyers and media experts and to revise the draft law.
The document did not change significantly in six months. Members of the task group tell about little concessions, but what caused concern and worry in the media community, e.g. questions of registration, re-registration, remained the same. Revision of the draft law will resume this autumn, but experts have pessimistic expectations about it.
Tamara Valieva, member of the task group and representative of the “Platform of Media Actions of Kyrgyzstan”, commented to CABAR.asia on the situation with the freedom of speech in Kyrgyzstan.
– In your opinion, what does the prosecutor’s office lawsuit regarding liquidation of Kloop Media mean for the media community of Kyrgyzstan?
– I believe it is a direct threat to independent media outlets. It is a kind of signal for them – behave yourself. It’s a moment of threatening of independent media outlets.
In my opinion, there is a long line of remaining independent media outlets that have courage to speak up. There’s a file on each of them. And these files will be disclosed to the public in case of need.
Or, maybe they won’t be disclosed. But we can see how they do it brassily and without observing the law. So, if they want to close something, they will just do it for cooked-up reasons. Have you read the lawsuit against Kloop? There is none significant claims in it. One claim is that they criticise authorities. Where is it written that one cannot criticise authorities? Nowhere, no law has it. That’s why they want to close Kloop.kg. What else can we talk about then?
– In your opinion, what will be with the new draft law “On mass media”, which is still being revised?
– I have rather pessimistic expectations about it. If they decided to close Kloop.kg so brassily, without observing the law, so this law… MPs will adopt this law once they return from vacation without amending it. They will adopt it because authorities need it this way.
I hoped that this autumn we would struggle a little and would try to prove to MPs that the law contained many moments leading to restriction of rights and liberties not only of journalists, but also of any person who dares to share one’s opinion in the public space. And we thought we would be able to convince them and to find common-sense people. But now I think there would be no such manoeuvres, and they would adopt the law as it is.
– In the context of what happens now, what prospects do independent media have in Kyrgyzstan?
I will be pessimistic again. There are few prospects for independent media outlets, who have a different view on the situation in the country, a different opinion about processes that are taking place. The space, where one can express one’s opinion different from the one of authorities will be shrinking even more gradually. In the end, only ‘approving’ media outlets would remain and they would support all ideas, even the most absurd ones, of authorities and would say that we would be going into the better tomorrow rapidly.
I think, independent media outlets would be looking for alternate options on the quiet. They would go abroad, make mirror sites, etc. In other words, prospects are not good.