Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Deutsche Welle Akademie (DWA) have rallied in support of Kloop, a Kyrgyzstan-based publication, in response to a request from the Bishkek prosecutor’s office for its closure. The organizations have issued a statement urging 50 countries to back Kloop, appealing to the Media Freedom Coalition to counter what they term an “unlawful attempt to eliminate the Kloop research site.”
The aim is to galvanize the efforts of 50 nations spanning six continents to condemn the prosecutions, which have come to symbolize the intensifying repression against the media in Kyrgyzstan. A new hearing in the Kloop case is scheduled for November 27, with the publication facing what RSF and DWA describe as “absurd and unfounded charges.”
RSF and DWA have urgently appealed to the Media Freedom Coalition, a global alliance of states advocating for press freedom, about this landmark case, warning of the potential liquidation of the media outlet and prosecution of its staff.
Jeanne Cavelier, head of the Reporters Without Borders department for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, stated,
This influential investigative media, which has published high-profile revelations of corruption, deserves the attention and support of all defenders of press freedom around the world. His persecution is a symbol of the escalation of repression to which independent media have been subjected in Kyrgyzstan for almost two years.
The Bishkek prosecutor, Emilbek Abdymannapov, has filed a lawsuit for the liquidation of the Kloop Media public foundation, alleging that “most of the publications are negative, aimed at discrediting representatives of state and municipal bodies,” and that “Kloop Media publications contain hidden manipulations of the opinion of society, which is imposed by untrue negative processes, and create opposition to any undertakings of the current government.” The prosecutor’s office also accuses the public fund of concealing a large amount of funds.
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