In Kyrgyzstan, the newspaper “Open Politics Plus” is facing closure
The city court of Bishkek upheld the decision of the first instance in the case of the newspaper “Open Politics Plus”. This was reported by the Public Association “Journalists”.
Recall that earlier the Oktyabr District Court obligated the newspaper to recover 300 000 KGS ($4294) in favor of the deputy Kozhobek Ryspaev for a publication in which journalists compared the Deputy with a chameleon for a frequent change of political parties.
It should be noted that the Deputy of the Parliament first requested compensation for non-pecuniary damage in the amount of 300 000 KGS ($4294), but later raised the amount to 1 million KGS ($14 316), but the court granted his previous claim.
People’s Deputy Kozhobek Ryspaev has repeatedly informed the public that he is not going to come to an agreement with the newspaper “Open Politics Plus”, despite the consequences for the editorial office, for which the amount of the claim is exorbitant. According to Nazgul Mamytova, editor-in-chief of the newspaper “Open Politics Plus”, 6 journalists may be left without work due to Ryspaev’s lawsuit.
“We will appeal this decision in the Supreme Court. I must say that 300 000 KGS is a large sum for us and we plan to organize a fundraising campaign. We hope only for ordinary residents of the Republic. But, if we fail to collect this amount, we will have to close the newspaper. And in this case, the entire editorial staff will remain without work, i.e. 6 journalists,” the editor-in-chief commented on the court decision.
The lawyer, media representative Akmat Alagushev said that the newspaper applied for linguistic expertise, which showed that the disputable expressions are opinions and value judgments about the Deputy’s professional activities.
“How can they be refuted? Well, what to do if people think so? You cannot forbid thinking,” Alagushev said.
The lawyer noted that the judge’s decision also raises questions. It is not clear what the court was guided by when it prescribed the newspaper with the edition of 2.8 thousand copies to pay moral damages of 300 000 KGS.
