(Adil Soz/IFEX) – The following is a joint Adil Soz and Trade Union for Journalists in Kyrgyzstan alert: On 19 November, 2005, Alisher Saipov, a reporter with Voice of America in Kyrgyzstan, was denied information by Hokim Razykov, head of the Interior Department’s Support for Public Movements Section, in Osh. The journalist was requesting information […]
(Adil Soz/IFEX) – The following is a joint Adil Soz and Trade Union for Journalists in Kyrgyzstan alert:
On 19 November, 2005, Alisher Saipov, a reporter with Voice of America in Kyrgyzstan, was denied information by Hokim Razykov, head of the Interior Department’s Support for Public Movements Section, in Osh. The journalist was requesting information about Azizullo Teshayev, a Kyrgyz citizen who went missing on 11 October.
The journalist referred to sources he believes reliable, who wish to remain anonymous, saying, “his relatives said Teshayev had been summoned to the Osh Police Department on 11 October. I wandered what had happened to him, as I had information that our police could have handed over the man to the Uzbekistan intelligence agency.” According to Saipov, the Uzbek authorities submitted a formal extradition request for Teshayev, who is suspected of being involved in the May events in Andijan, Uzbekistan (see IFEX alerts of 11 November, 27 and 13 October, 23 September, 31, 16 and 3 August, 20 July, 28 and 9 June, 30, 25, 17 and 16 May 2005, and others).
Saipov made several fruitless attempts to get Razykov to comment, including over the phone. The journalist was insulted and urged to stop calling.
The Kyrgyzstan legislation stipulates that media outlets have a right to access information. A journalist has the right to request information that is in the public interest from any state body and non-state organisation, with the exception of information containing state secrets, according to Article 5 of the law “On the protection of the professional activities of journalists”, and Article 20 of the law “On Mass Media”.
