September 4, 2023

04.09.2023 – Concerns Arise as Kyrgyz Authorities Seek to Close Investigative Outlet Kloop

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) condemns the move by Kyrgyz authorities to close down Kloop Media, which operates the independent news and anti-corruption investigative website Kloop (https://kloop.kg/). The application for liquidation was filed on 22 August 2023, by the prosecutor in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. According to officials, the reason for closing is that the company did not include media activity among its stated activities.

The application made by Kyrgyz authorities (chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://kloop.kg/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Isk-1.pdf) also claimed that Kloop’s publications included false and discrediting information.

Kloop is registered as a public foundation for developing journalism in Kyrgyzstan and to develop political awareness among young citizens through journalism, According to Kloop the work of this company includes official analysis of present affairs and an information platform. According to the law, for online media in Kyrgyzstan, there is no requirement to register as media

Kloop is a local partner of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) (https://www.occrp.org/en/), and it regularly publishes journalist investigations in Kyrgyzstan

South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is a regional non-governmental, non-profit network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in Southeast, South, East and Central Europe. SEEMO members are in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova (with the territory of Transdnestria), Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Türkiye / Turkey, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Austria, Italy, Vatican and San Marino have a special status in SEEMO. SEEMO has over 3000 individual members, and additional media as corporate members.

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