Watchdog

Kyrgyzstan's State Committee for National Security (UKMK) reportedly has filed a libel lawsuit against an independent journalist in the country's southern region of Osh.

Shokhrukh Saipov, a freelance correspondent, told RFE/RL on August 25 that the UKMK's lawsuit against him is related to an article he wrote that was published online in May by the Fergana.ru news website.

The article alleged that UKMK officers extort bribes from Kyrgyz citizens who are arrested on suspicion of seeking to join Islamic militants in Syria.

According to Saipov, local UKMK branch chief Asylbek Kojobekov is seeking a payment of $20,000 in damages.

A trial has been scheduled in Osh on August 28.

The UKMK press secretary, Rakhat Sulaimanov, told RFE/RL that he has no information about the case.

But Sulaimanov insisted that allegations about bribe extortion by UKMK officers are groundless.

The UN's human rights chief has condemned Islamic State (IS) militants for their campaign of "ethnic and religious cleansing" in Iraq.

In an August 25 statement, Navi Pillay said the "appalling" crimes being committed by Islamic State forces include killings, slavery, sexual offenses, and targeting people on ethnic or religious grounds.

Pillay said violations documented by UN investigators would amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes.

She said Christians, Yazidis, and Turkomans are among those targeted.

In one instance documented by UN rights workers, up to 670 prisoners from Badush prison in Mosul were killed by Islamic State on June 10 after being taken to a remote area and screened for non-Sunnis.

Pillay called on the Iraqi government and the international community to protect vulnerable ethnic and religious communities, highlighting the plight of at least 13,000 Shi'a Turkomans in Salahuddin Province besieged by IS forces since mid-June.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP