Kyrgyzstan: the actions of the police against the journalist were declared illegal
The Prosecutor’s Office issued an act of prosecutorial response against the officers of the Department of Internal Affairs of Alamudun, who illegally carried out pre-trial proceedings against the journalist Kanat Kanimetov. This was announced by the Media Policy Institute with reference to the Regional Prosecutor’s Office of Issyk-Kul.
“The Regional Prosecutor’s Office responded to the request of the Media Policy Institute with a request to check the legality of the actions of officials of the internal affairs bodies against Kanat Kanimetov and give them a legal assessment. The supervisory authority reported that the act of the prosecutor’s response on the adoption of measures was issued to some police officers,” the lawyers said.
It is noted that this prosecutor’s decision is based on the norms of legislation providing that in cases where employees, even during examination of the material, can establish the absence of signs of a crime or misconduct, the proceedings in accordance with Article 26 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Kyrgyz Republic is subject to termination. In the future, officers are instructed to “leave the application without consideration”.
ACCA previously reported that from March 23, 2021, pre-trial proceedings were conducted against journalist Kanat Kanimetov under Article 119 “Disorderly conduct” of the Misdemeanor Code.
The reason for this, according to the head of the Service for Combating Extremism and Illegal Migration under the Ministry of Internal Affairs Zh. Dzhorobekov, was Kanimetov’s post on Facebook criticizing the authorities in connection with searches in the house of blogger Yulia Barabina. Referring to the fact that this post could lead “to a deterioration of the socio-political situation on the territory of the country”, the investigative service of the Internal Affairs Directorate of Issyk-Kul region, inquiry bodies, employees of the Service for Combating Extremism and Illegal Migration under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic carried out the relevant operational work before registering the material in the Register of misdemeanors and offenses.
In addition, Kanat Kanimetov was summoned for interrogation at the State Committee for National Security in the case of Belizgate (a scandal related to an attempt in December 2016 to sell a 50% stake in the state communications operator Alfa Telecom CJSC. As the journalist reported on his Facebook page, he was invited as a witness, but the reporter feared that his status in this case could be changed to a suspect.
After this interrogation, law enforcement officers came to the house in Issyk-Kul, where the journalist Kanat Kanimetov used to live, and asked about his whereabouts.
The law enforcement officers also demanded that Kanimetov sign a non-disclosure statement about the circumstances related to the pre-trial proceedings in his case, but the reporter refused, citing his constitutional right to freedom of opinion and speech.
Later, the Alamudun District Court satisfied the complaint of Kanat Kanimetov against the actions of the police officer, who took a nondisclosure statement after the interrogation.
