NEWS BRIEFS
8/14/09
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A reporter beaten and stabbed in Bishkek earlier this year is seeking asylum abroad because of ongoing threats to his and his family’s lives.
Syrgak Abdyldayev, a political columnist for the weekly Reporter-Bishkek newspaper, was attacked near the city center on March 3. In what appeared to be a clear message about his professional work, both of his hands and forearms were broken. He also received 20 knife wounds.
Since his release from hospital, Abdyldayev and his wife have been followed and their home subject to a wiretap, Turat Akimov, editor-in-chief of Reporter-Bishkek claims.
Recently, the message "Prepare a Horse" -- a Kyrgyz euphemism for ’get ready for a funeral’ -- was scrawled across their front door.
Fearing for their safety, Abdyldayev, his wife and elderly mother are now in a foreign country seeking political asylum, Akimov told news agency Akipress on August 14.
Reporters Without Borders ranks Kyrgyzstan 111 out of 173 countries in terms of press freedom.
Posted August 14, 2009 © Eurasianet
http://www.eurasianet.org
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