The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is urging Kyrgyzstan to revoke a recently signed law by President Sadyr Japarov, which mandates that nonprofit organizations, including media outlets, register as "foreign agents."
This move by President Sadyr Japarov to align with Russia's "foreign agent" legislation raises concerns about jeopardizing Kyrgyzstan's 30-year reputation as a relatively safe space for freedom of speech and democracy in post-Soviet Central Asia. While the law is not directly targeting the media, it has the potential to disrupt the operations of press freedom organizations and nonprofits managing various independent media outlets in Kyrgyzstan. CPJ's Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, Gulnoza Said, has called for the repeal of this law.
Similar to Russia's legislation, this law mandates that nonprofit organizations receiving foreign funding and engaging in political activities, as outlined by the law, must register as "foreign agents."
The law will be enforced ten days after its official publication.
The bill, which was introduced to parliament in May 2023, has garnered widespread international criticism from organizations such as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in addition to the CPJ.
On March 14, the Jogorku Kenesh (parliament) passed the bill on "foreign agents" in its third reading, officially titled the draft law "On Amending the Law on Nonprofit Organizations."
President Sadyr Japarov signed the law on April 2.
