The Bishkek city prosecutor's office has initiated legal proceedings against the Kloop Media Public Foundation to suspend its work in Kyrgyzstan because of its critical coverage of the government.
Kloop said it was officially informed of the lawsuit on August 28, saying the move was made after an audit by the State Committee for National Security determined Kloop's "published materials are aimed at sharply criticizing the policies of the current government" and that "most of the publications are purely negative, aimed at discrediting representatives of state and municipal bodies."
Established in June 2007, Kloop.kg is a Kyrgyz news website whose contributors are mostly students and graduates of the Kloop Media Public Foundation School of Journalism. As an independent media entity, it is known for publishing reports on corruption within various governmental bodies and providing training to Central Asian journalists in fact-checking and investigative techniques.
Anna Kapushenko, the editor in chief of the Russian-language version of Kloop.kg, said the publication's legal team was preparing a response to contest the prosecutor's accusation.
"If the office does not withdraw the lawsuit, then we will countersue based on their filing. The statement alleges that our publications undermine state authority. We will thoroughly investigate each accusation brought forward by the prosecutor's office, scrutinizing the validity of the allegations and the methodology employed in the analysis," Kapushenko said.
"We will continue our online operations and sustain our work. We have anticipated the possibility of the website being blocked. We have prepared a 'mirror' website where readers can access our content via a link," Kapushenko added.
RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, Kloop, and the Center for Corruption and Organized Crime Research (OCCRP) have collaborated on a series of investigations concerning corruption in the Central Asian state.
In its latest investigation, Kloop revealed the participation of state officials in the creation of a branch of the Barcelona Academy, which is associated with the Spanish FC Barcelona soccer club.
The project used 16 hectares of state land, but officials said in response to Kloop's investigation that the academy "will pay back 16 times these 16 hectares in the future."
President Sadyr Japarov, who confirmed the Barcelona project, saying it was a social facility, accused Kloop on August 26 of writing "only negative things."