BISHKEK. Lenin District court in Bishkek passed a verdict against an independent newspaper 'Moya stolitsa'. The plaintiffs, the Ysykkul district administration and the Semyonov village administration in the Ysykkul region sued the newspaper and its author, Gennadiy Kuzmin and won the case. In an article entitled 'Family Gone Onto Mountains, the Family Has Found Money' the author wrote that the President Akayev's family members were the owners of the Semyonov skiing lodge in the village area. The district court fined the newspaper to 75,000 soms, and Kuzmin - to 4,000 soms to pay to the plaintiffs.
The chief editor of the newspaper, Aleksander Kim told RFERL yesterday that the series of the court processes against the newspaper are politically motivated. Meanwhile, Tolekan Ismailova, a leader of the Civic Leaders Forum and a Kyrgyz human rights campaigner, who is currently visiting the USA, wrote an open letter to President Askar Akayev on January 8, 2003, urging him to stop persecution of the independent newspaper 'Moya stolitsa'.
The chief editor of the newspaper, Aleksander Kim told RFERL yesterday that the series of the court processes against the newspaper are politically motivated. Meanwhile, Tolekan Ismailova, a leader of the Civic Leaders Forum and a Kyrgyz human rights campaigner, who is currently visiting the USA, wrote an open letter to President Askar Akayev on January 8, 2003, urging him to stop persecution of the independent newspaper 'Moya stolitsa'.