Kyrgystan
Correspondent assaulted at checkpointPosted Nov 18 2009
A correspondent for a local newspaper in the Osh region of Kyrgzstan was beaten by three unknown men Nov.1, IPI and RSF reported. Kubanychbek Joldoshev was attacked after the taxi he was in was stopped for a sobriety check, Joldoshev told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. He said as soon as the police left with the taxi driver, three men approached the taxi and began beating him. The police deny any involvement in the assault.
Joldoshev was hospitalized for a concussion and broken ribs, RSF reported. The alleged attackers have not yet been detained.
Tyntchtykbek Tchoroev, the director of RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz service, said that Joldoshev’s recent coverage of protests at the Osh State University and criticism of the university’s administration may be a cause of the attack. He has also written investigative reports about corruption and prostitution networks, RSF reported.
In 2006, he was named the “Best Journalist in Southern Kyrgyzstan” by a local NGO called Media Support Centre.
Kyrgyzstan is ranked 125 out of 175 in the 2009 Reporters without Borders press freedom index. The Institute for Public Reporting in Kyrgyzstan has registered 58 cases of attacks against journalists since 2005, including two murders of outspoken reporters, RFE/RL reported.
More information