Kyrgyzstan authorities threaten arrests for criticism on social media

Presidential press secretary Daiyrbek Orunbekov threatened Kyrgyz citizens with arrests for criticizing the authorities and posting anti-China messages on social media.

His words were reported by Vesti.kg.

According to him, there are politicians in the country who dream of becoming president and, through fake accounts, “denigrate the authorities, claim that ‘the Chinese have flooded the country,’ ‘lands are being sold,’ and ‘the external debt is growing.’” As examples of such politicians, he cited former deputy Adakhan Madumarov, former president Almazbek Atambayev, and former minister Kamchybek Tashiev.

“When the authors of the posts are identified and jailed, their relatives will begin to complain that their sons and daughters were interrogated or detained illegally. If you do not stop stirring things up, you will be detained along with the leaders,” Orunbekov said.

The presidential administration’s situation center identifies accounts attempting to provoke society and establishes their connections, he added.