Kyrgyz Service
Radio Azattyk is an award-winning, multimedia source of independent news in Kyrgyzstan.
Website page views (2024)
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About the Service
Operating out of its Bishkek bureau, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service, known locally as Radio Azattyk, reports in Kyrgyz and Russian on a wide range of international and domestic topics and has been a trusted media leader in Kyrgyzstan since 1953.
The Service’s investigative reports focus on corruption and abuses of power, which have led to shake-ups in the government.
Journalists uncovered Russia’s use of Kyrgyz companies in circumvention of Western sanctions to supply dual-use technologies in support of its full-scale war on Ukraine.
Radio Azattyk identified dozens of Kyrgyz migrants in Russia forced to fight in Ukraine, where some died in battle.
The Service’s cultural reporting covers the plight of Kyrgyzstan’s modern nomadic communities.
Journalists report on domestic violence and the rights of women and children through special video program Sisterhood.
Reaching Audiences
Media Climate
Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index ranks Kyrgyzstan 120th out of 180 countries.
In April 2024, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov signed into law a controversial bill critics say mirrors Russia’s repressive law on “foreign agents” that Moscow uses to muzzle independent journalism and NGOs.
Under President Japarov, Kyrgyz authorities have cracked down on independent media, including by shuttering news outlets and detaining journalists for their work.
Kyrgyz government blocked Radio Azattyk’s websites in October 2022, froze its bank account, and removed TV and radio programs from main local affiliates. In July 2023, a Kyrgyz court reversed the government’s block of Radio Azattyk following international outcry.
Awards
Society of Publishers in Asia
In 2024, Radio Azattyk received the top regional award for “Excellence in Technology Reporting” from the Society of Publishers in Asia for the Service’s investigation of Russia’s import of dual-use technologies from Kyrgyz and Kazakh companies.
Latest Updates
RFE/RL President and CEO Jamie Fly Advocates for Azattyk in Visit to Kyrgyzstan
As the Kyrgyz government takes steps to shut down RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service, President and CEO Jamie Fly visited Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan to advocate for the Service.
RFE/RL Challenges Kyrgyz Government Decision to Block Websites
Today, RFE/RL filed an administrative complaint with Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports and Youth Policy.
RFE/RL Responds to Kyrgyz Government Blocking Websites in Crackdown on Free Media
Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports and Youth Policy announced it was blocking RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service websites for two months.
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