Zanoza Archives - Committee to Protect Journalists

The Kyrgyz flag in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in September 2017. Former Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev dropped defamation charges he pressed last year against independent news website Zanoza and two of its journalists, according to reports. (Reuters/Shamil Zhumatov)

CPJ welcomes positive development in Kyrgyzstan, calls for Askarov’s release

May 18, 2018 4:48 PM EDT

New York, May 18, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today welcomed former Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev’s decision to drop defamation charges he pressed last year against independent news website Zanoza and its journalists Naryn Idinov and Dina Maslova, and urged the country’s new administration to release Azimjon Askarov, a Kyrgyz journalist jailed since 2010.

A man holds the Kyrgyz flag in front of the government building in Bishkek in April 2010. CPJ has joined calls for the Kyrgyz authorities to end the repressive climate for the country's press. (AFP/Vyacheslav Oseledko)

CPJ joins call for Kyrgyzstan to end restrictive media practices

March 14, 2018 3:20 PM EDT

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined a coalition of 28 other international press freedom organizations to call on Kyrgyz authorities to drop defamation lawsuits and to end the practice of using disproportionate fines, travel bans and other harsh penalties to punish critical media outlets and journalists.

Supporters of detained opposition politician Omurbek Tekebayev protest in the Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek, in February. A media group that reported on comments by Tekebayev is facing five separate charges of insulting the president. (AFP/Vyacheslav Oseledko)

Kyrgyzstan holds three trials in one day against independent outlet

June 29, 2017 5:56 PM EDT

New York, June 29, 2017–Kyrgyzstan should drop all charges against the independent media organization ProMedia and its co-founder, Naryn Idinov, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. A Bishkek district court held three separate hearings today into charges of insult made against ProMedia, which runs the independent online news agency Zanoza, and Idinov who edits…

President Almazbek Atambayev, pictured at a press conference in 2013. In recent weeks, the Kyrgyz leader verbally assaulted several critical journalists during a speech to foreign ambassadors. (AFP/Vyacheslav Oseldko)

In pivotal election year Kyrgyz media face verbal assaults from president and legal action

March 28, 2017 1:57 PM EDT

In Kyrgyzstan, once Central Asia’s most liberal country, President Almazbek Atambayev is tightening his grip on critical voices, including independent journalists and foreign media.