Kyrgyzstan has taken the 120th place in the World Press Freedom Index this year, published by the international organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF). In the previous ranking, the republic was in 122nd place.
According to the authors, the country with relative freedom of speech and press was an exception in Central Asia, despite the unstable economy and rampant corruption in the authorities. However, it is currently experiencing a surge in pressure on the media.
The government still controls all traditional media and tries to influence private publications. There is a certain degree of pluralism, as evidenced by the popularity of news websites such as Kaktus.media, and Kloop.kg, as well as the growth of investigative and data journalism. However, these publications face persecution, and their situation has become critical lately. Radio and television remain the main sources of news for the majority of the population, the organization emphasizes.
Overall, the authors of the index noted that the situation with media freedom worldwide continues to deteriorate rapidly - the number of attacks on journalists is increasing, as well as the number of countries where working conditions for media workers are described as "catastrophic."
"Press freedom is under threat from those very people who should be its guarantors - the political authorities. Of the five indicators that make up the country's ranking, it is the political one that decreases the most in the index for 2024 - by 7.6 points," say the authors of the ranking.
For the eighth year in a row, Norway tops the press freedom ranking. It is followed by Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, and Estonia.
Russia is in 162nd place, Belarus in 167th, Uzbekistan in 148th, Tajikistan in 155th, Kazakhstan in 142nd, and Turkmenistan in 175th.
The last five positions - from 176th to 180th - are occupied by Iran, North Korea, Afghanistan, Syria, and Eritrea. In the last three, the political indicator has sharply declined. In Afghanistan, this is due to the Taliban coming to power, while in Syria and Eritrea, it is due to a record number of journalists being detained, missing, or taken hostage.
