Kyrgyzstan - October 2022

More than 20 well-known activists and opposition politicians were arrested over several days in late October to face charges on an alleged plot to incite riots and seize power. Domestic critics and international rights organizations say the arrests were an attempt to prevent public criticism of a proposed land swap with Uzbekistan, and are part of a larger slide towards authoritarianism in the country. 

Sources: EurasiaNet 

Using an extra-legal interpretation of a fake news law passed last year, Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports, and Youth Policy announced a two-month block of US broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Kyrgyz service on grounds of “hate speech”. Media and legal experts interpreted the move as an abuse of the law’s broad discretion to target media outlets critical of the government.

Sources: The Diplomat