Watchdog

BISHKEK -- Three brothers of slain Kyrgyz independent journalist, Alisher Saipov, have reportedly been attacked and beaten in Bishkek.

One brother was said to be in serious condition.

The chairwoman of Kyrgyzstan’s Torch of the Century (Kylym Shamy) human rights center, Aziza Abdrasulova, told RFE/RL on December 3 that Saipov brothers Ozodbek, Shokhrukh, and Yusuf have filed an official complaint with police.

According to Abdrasulova, police found a mobile phone at the crime scene belonging to Azamat Tekebaev -- a brother of the leader of the Fatherland (Ata-Meken) political party, Omurbek Tekebaev.

That party is currently part of Kyrgyzstan's ruling coalition.

Police confirmed that Azamat Tekebaev has been interrogated in connection with the incident.

Alisher Saipov was a Kyrgyz citizen who wrote in the Uzbek language about Islamic extremism and human rights in Uzbekistan.

He was shot dead in Kyrgyzstan's southern city of Osh in October 2007.

Authorities have launched a new investigation into Saipov's killing, Kyrgyz Deputy Interior Minister Melis Turganbaev told RFE/RL early this month.

ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- Police in Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty, have confiscated copies of a newspaper that published material from a suspended periodical.

The "Azat" (Free) weekly was removed from several newsstands on November 30.

The chief editor of the opposition "Golos respubliki" (Voice of the Republic) weekly, Tatyana Trubacheva, told RFE/RL that "Azat" placed her newspaper's materials in its November 30 issue.

A court ordered publication of "Golos respubliki" to be suspended last week following a request by prosecutors to designate two opposition groups and several opposition media outlets as extremist.

Earlier this week, police confiscated copies of another suspended weekly, "Vzglyad" (Viewpoint), in Almaty.

It had published its November 28 issue as a brochure with the altered title "NeVzglyad" (Not-A-Viewpoint) in an unsuccessful attempt to get around the court's order.

With reporting by Respublika-kaz.info