Uznews, Osh, 30 Jan 2008 – Avas Saipov, the father of Kyrgyz journalist Alisher Saipov who was shot dead in Osh in October 2007, has again written to Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev and demanded that he make public the name of his son’s murderer who is known to everyone.

nCa, Ashgabat, 29 Jan 2009 – A recent report in the Turkmen print media shows that authorities are concerned about the growing TV habits of children. The report says that preschoolers are watching TV for 1.5 to 2 hours a day or 10-14 hours a week.

OSCE, Vienna, 28 Jan 2009 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Miklos Haraszti, welcomed today the adoption of a number of amendments to Kazakhstan’s media law, and underscored the need for further democratization of media governance.

OSCE, Yerevan, 27 Jan 2009 – A television report on a female taxi driver and a radio report on a female trolley bus driver were among winners announced today in an OSCE-supported competition awarding media for coverage of women’s achievements in the political, economic and social fields.

Uznews, Tashkent, 23 Jan 2009 – Writer Yusuf Juma, who was locked up in the Jaslyk prison in northern Karakalpakstan, has been placed in an information vacuum and is not allowed to see his relatives or lawyer who are forced to make their worst conclusions.

Uznews.net, Tashkent, 18 Jan 2009 – The body of journalism student Madina Mirzayeva who went missing in late December was found in Tashkent few days ago. It was chopped into 18 parts. Official bodies talk about “pure” crime. Tashkent police say that the motive for the murder of Madina Mirzayeva, who was a student of [...]

Ferghana.Ru, Tashkent, 20 Jan 2009 – A group of Uzbek opposition activists presenting themselves as “representatives of democratic organizations” that operate in Uzbekistan and abroad issued a statement condemning Radio Ozodlik (RLE/RF Uzbek Service). Copies of the statement were mailed to the US Congress, its International Directorate of Funding of Broadcasts, and RFE\RL director. Some [...]

Ferghana.Ru, Bishkek, 19 Jan 2009 – President of Kyrgyzstan Kurmanbek Bakiyev defied the United States and European Union and signed the new edition of the law “On freedom of conscience and religious organizations”. The amended legislation banned propaganda of unorthodox religious organizations in the country.

Media.ge, Tbilisi, 16 Jan 2009 – The Dutch broadcaster, NOS (Nederlandse Omroep Stichting), has rejected the Georgian authorities’ claims that its report on the August war was “false and misleading”.

IRFS, Baku, 15 Jan 2009 – Yesterday, 14 January, at around 4:30 p.m., employees of “Azad Azerbaijan” (ATV) and “Lider” TV channels (ATV correspondent Hafiz Huseynoglu and operator Eldaniz Valiyev, “Lider” TV operator Ilgar Salmanoglu and Habil Aslanoglu) came under gunfire on a border between Armenian and Azerbaijanian military units in the Agdam region of [...]

OSCE, Vienna, 14 Jan 2009 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Miklos Haraszti, said today he had urged Kazakh authorities to release a journalist accused of disclosing official secrets and to adjust the relevant laws to international standards.

RFE/RL, Almaty, 13 Jan 2009 – Ramazan Esergepov, editor in chief of the “Alma-Ata Info” newspaper, is continuing his hunger strike in National Security Committee (KNB) custody and refusing to be interrogated. His wife, Raushan Esergepova, told RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service that her husband is insisting that a security service other than the KNB conduct the investigation [...]

Media.ge, Tbilisi, 12 Jan 2009 – On the morning of January 9 Kavkasia TV staff found their Web site at www.kavkasiatv.ge hacked. The IT technicians managed to restore the Web site in no time. According to Kavkasia TV director Nino Jangirashvili “horrible photos were posted on the Web site” with a postscript “Web site hacked.” [...]