President Askar Akaev
Prospekt Chuy, 205
Dom pravitelstva
Bishkek 720003

Dear President Akaev,

We are writing to you today to express our deep concern regarding the January 27 attack on Aleksandra Chernik, a journalist with the Bishkek-based newspaper Moia Stolitsa. We ask that you use your good offices to ensure that the police investigation already underway is thorough and results in the assailants’ being brought to justice. We also request that you support secure working conditions for journalists in Kyrgyzstan, free of the type of harassment and physical threat experienced by Moia Stolitsa.

As you know, Human Rights Watch is an international non-government organization based in the United States that investigates and reports on human rights abuse in more than seventy countries worldwide. We have reported on the state of human rights in Central Asia for more than a decade and maintain offices in Tashkent, Tbilisi, and Moscow.

We are concerned that the recent attack on Aleksandra Chernik constitutes the latest in a series of retaliatory measures against independent and outspoken media. According to local press reports, at 7:00 p.m. on January 27, two unidentified assailants physically attacked Aleksandra Chernik. The attackers beat her using a police baton, and took her bag containing her hand-held tape-recorder before fleeing. She sustained head trauma and is currently hospitalized.

Staff members at Moia Stolitsa believe that the assault was intended to intimidate Rina Prizhivoit, Moia Stolitsa’s chief political editor, in response to her articles critical of government officials. In the January 16, 2003 edition of the paper, Prizhivoit criticized Prime Minister N. Tanaev’s alleged role in law enforcement officers’ use of excessive force against demonstrators in the Aksy district of Jalal Abad province on March 17-18, 2002. The article prompted a civil defamation suit that reportedly resulted in a 500,000-som (about U.S.$10,000) fine for Moia Stolitsa and a 3,000-som (about $60) fine for Prishvoit.

Moia Stolitsa has endured past pressure by government officials intent on silencing critical speech. For example, on January 16, 2002, Moia Stolitsa published an article by Prizhivoit accusing Kanybek Imanaliev, the president of the state printing company (Uchkun), of censoring its paper. The article was the grounds for a civil defamation suit, in which the Lenin District Court of Bishkek ruled that Moia Stolitsa had “offend[ed] the honor and dignity” of Kanybek Imanaliev, and required the newspaper to pay damages of 25,000 soms (about $500) and for Prizhivoit to pay another 5,000 som (about $100).

Throughout the past year, Kyrgyz government officials also made use of criminal libel laws and other politically motivated criminal charges to punish journalists for criticism of government policies or officials. Harassment of journalists is on the rise.

We urge you to end undue government pressure upon Kyrgystan’s mass media outlets, to ensure that journalists can work in safety, and to reform criminal libel and “honor and dignity” laws, which are too often exploited for political ends. We look forward to learning of any progress that has been made in the investigation into the attack on Aleksandra Chernik and appreciate your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,