(Adil Soz/IFEX) – The following is a joint Trade Union for Journalists in Kyrgzystan and Adil Soz alert: On 10 September 2005, at about 1:00 a.m (local time), Mahmud Kazakbayev, a reporter with “Demos Times” newspaper and the founder of Allians-Press advertising agency, was attacked by two unknown men in the city of Osh, Southern […]
(Adil Soz/IFEX) – The following is a joint Trade Union for Journalists in Kyrgzystan and Adil Soz alert:
On 10 September 2005, at about 1:00 a.m (local time), Mahmud Kazakbayev, a reporter with “Demos Times” newspaper and the founder of Allians-Press advertising agency, was attacked by two unknown men in the city of Osh, Southern Kyrgyzstan. They struck the journalist on the head and body several times, but said nothing. Kazakbayev was taken to the Osh City Hospital suffering serious injuries, including a dislocated elbow.
The attackers fled empty-handed, leaving all of Kazakbayev’s valuables (wallet and cell phone) behind, which leaves the journalist to believe that the attack may be linked to his professional activities. Kazakbayev told a Trade Union for Journalists in Kyrgyzstan source that unknown individuals had called the editorial office the day before the attack inquiring about his work schedule and threatened him with death. Later the same day, when he notified the police, he learned that the unknown men had made the call from a telephone booth, so it was impossible to identify them.
Kazakbayev suspects the attackers may be closely linked to the Kyrgyz Ombudsman. He recalled a televised statement, aired by the Osh-based Mezon television station on 1 July 2005, during which the Ombudsman, Tursunbai Bakir uulu, who was also a presidential candidate in the July 2005 elections, announced his intention to file a lawsuit against him unless Kazakbayev apologised for remarks he had made earlier. Bakir uulu claimed the journalist had made defamatory remarks against him in public, calling him a Wahhabist (a supporter of radical Islamist groups). The journalist, in response, said that he would rather face the lawsuit than apologise to the presidential candidate.
