Kyrgystan
Reporter assaulted with brass knucklesPosted Apr 20 2007
On March 16, two unidentified men assaulted reporter Kairat Birimkulov with brass knuckles, causing serious injuries to his skull and brain. The assailants also took his tape recorder, video camera and work files, according to local press and the Committee to Protect Journalists reports. Birimkulov is a reporter for one of Kyrgyzstan's main broadcast companies, the Government TV and Radio Company (GTRK). Speaking from his hospital bed, Birmikulov said the railroad company Kyrgyz Temir Zholu is behind his assault, according to local press reports. In early March, GTRK broadcast Birimikulov's report about the rampant corruption and negligence at the railroad company. Kyrgyz Temir Zholu's director Nariman Tyuleyev then filed a defamation suit against the journalist for his March 14 story. Birimikulov started receiving anonymous threats by phone three months earlier when he first began reporting on Kyrgyz Temir Zholu. According to CPJ, GTRK Deputy Director Beikhenbek Betesov said, “Kairat complained many times about threats and pursuits, but we didn't understand how serious they were.” A similar incident occurred several days later when four unknown assailants beat and injured journalist Daniyar Isanov of New TV Net (NTS) in the capital city of Bishkek on March 27. According to local press reports, the men approached Isanov as he was leaving the office and asked him for a cigarette. They then attacked him from behind and threw him in a van, drove to the outskirts of Bishkek and beat him until he passed out, leaving him near a river. According to the U.S.-based news organization Internews-Kyrgyzstan, one of the men shouted, “This is for NTS!” during the assault. According to the Public Association Journalist, Isanov was hospitalized for a broken nose and facial bruises. Police are investigating the incident.