Ferghana.ru, Bishkek, 22 Aug 2008 – Cholpon Orozbekova, editor-in-chief of the oppositional De-facto newspaper, which is involved in libel litigation, has been threatened physically by unknown persons over the phone, one of the newspaper representatives told Ferghana.ru. Orozbekova’s lawyer is to ask for the editor’s protection by the State National Security Committee.
Neither Cholpon Orozbekova nor the lawyer Nina Zotova was immediately available for comment.
De-facto’s editor-in-chief was charged with deliberately publishing false accusations against a city official. Criminal defamation laws are the basis for prosecuting the newspaper for publishing an article on June 12 by Zamira Moldolieva in which the author accuses Taalaybek Dalbaev, the chief tax inspector for the Bishkek District, of corruption.
A preliminary investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office reportedly revealed that the article’s author does not exist. For this reason, Cholpon Orozbekova, chief editor of De-facto, is a key witness in court and might be subject to one year of imprisonment, or a heavy fine, as called for by the country’s defamation law.
After the first hearing on July 28 in the Bishkek district court, a judge has decided to seek additional evidence from the state.
The newspaper was established a year ago under the patronage of a famous oppositional politician Kubatbek Baibolov. This year, however, Baibolov publicly announced he is leaving Kyrgyz political arena for good.
Although the newspaper representatives said the De-facto is temporarily closed, most of its staff reportedly was advised to look for other jobs.
Critics say the criminal case against one of the most popular Kyrgyz-language opposition newspapers looks to be treading on freedom of the press and independent journalism.
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