RFE/RL: Independent news website partly blocked in Kyrgyzstan
Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:09 GMT
February 22, 2012
A state-controlled Internet provider in Kyrgyzstan has blocked access to a leading independent news website.
The move came some eight months after the Krygyz parliament voted in support of a resolution calling for the Moscow-based Ferghananews.com to be blocked across the Central Asian country.
The journalist advocacy group Reporters Without Borders has described itself as "shocked" by the decision of Kyrgyztelecom to block access to Fergananews.com, describing it as "a major step backwards."
Kyrgyztelecom has explained its actions by saying it was merely following instructions from Kyrgyz authorities.
In June of last year, the Kyrgyz legislature voted to take the step to punish Ferghana for what Kyrgyz lawmakers described as its "subjective" and provocative" coverage of violence in southern Kyrgyzstan in June, 2010.
Reporters Without Borders had described the coverage as "exemplary."
Internet users in Kyrgyzstan are currently still able to visit Fergananews.com through other web providers.
Copyright 2012 by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). All worldwide rights reserved.
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