President Sadyr Japarov signed amendments to the Kyrgyz Code of Offenses on July 8, introducing administrative penalties for spreading “false or unreliable” information via mass media or the internet — another in a series of ongoing moves toward cracking down on the country’s independent press. The law, whose signing was announced July 11, will go into effect in the third week of July.

The new regulations establish fines of 20,000 soms (US$230) for individuals, and 65,000 soms (US$740) against outlets found to have violated the law.

“The new law on so-called fake news is just one element of a broader legislative campaign under President Japarov aimed at restricting media, civil society, and public discourse in Kyrgyzstan,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “Kyrgyz authorities should repeal the law and reverse their escalating legal assault on the independent press.”

The new false news legislation follows similar amendments that went into force in February. These introduced identical administrative fines for defamation and insult. In both cases, complaints are handled by the police and adjudicated in brief administrative court hearings, which journalists fear will allow authorities to swiftly fine media and avoid a thorough judicial review.

Since Japarov came to power in 2020, Kyrgyz authorities have dramatically expanded their arsenal of laws targeting the press while shuttering critical outlets and jailing journalists. A 2021 law empowers the government to extrajudicially block news websites for what it deems false news, and in 2024, Japarov enacted a Russian-style foreign agent law.

On June 25, parliament passed a controversial mass media that allows the government to determine which individuals and organizations are permitted to publish news. The law has sparked criticism from journalists and international organizations such as CPJ, which urged Japarov to veto the bill.

The president stated earlier this month that he has not yet reviewed the mass media law and will decide whether to sign or return it after careful consideration.