Affiliated media: TV channel Next TV, TV channel

Incident date: March 4, 2022

Attack type:

• Search with a court decree

Who attacked: Authorities

Source: Euirasianet

Location: Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek

Additional information:

The opposition TV channel Next TV was shut down after publishing news about Ukraine. The channel premises were sealed by the State Committee of National Security officers, and all the documentation and equipment of the channel were confiscated. The Committee opened a criminal case for incitement of ethnic hatred. According to the investigation, the channel «disseminated false information about the alleged agreement on the provision of military assistance by the Kyrgyz Republic to Russia during a special operation in Ukraine, citing as a source the former head of Kazakhstan's special service». The Committee considers this to be a "catalyst for inciting interethnic hatred and the formation of animosity on ethnic grounds». The special services do not explain which ethnic group the hostility was allegedly being formed.