Kyrgyzstan Authorities Detain Journalists in Media Crackdown

Human Rights Groups Condemn Detention of Reporters Investigating Elite Corruption

Kyrgyzstan authorities have detained at least 10 journalists from four independent media outlets in a crackdown that human rights groups say highlights democratic backsliding in the Central Asian country.
The raids began on Monday when police in the capital Bishkek raided the newsroom of the independent outlet 24.KG and briefly detained and interrogated its director and two top editors.
On Tuesday, police detained at least 11 reporters according to press freedom groups and media reports.
Those detained on Tuesday have investigated alleged corruption among the country's elites, according to the press freedom group Reporters Without Borders, or RSF.
"This wave of arrests on the basis of a dubious charge amounts to a purge of local investigative journalism," Jeanne Cavelier, the head of RSF's Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk, said in a statement.