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BISHKEK -- A critic of a top Kyrgyz government official has fled the country to avoid paying a large fine.

Uran Botobekov's relatives told RFE/RL on January 27 that he had to leave the country after the Bishkek City Court upheld a previous court's decision to fine him for libel.

Kyrgyz presidential adviser Ikramjan Ilmiyanov sued Botobekov last year, claiming that the latter had insulted his honor and dignity in an interview with a Bishkek-based news agency in April 2015.

In the interview, Botobekov claimed that Ilmiyanov, who was then deputy chief of the presidential administration, had been behind the privatization of a major publishing house in Bishkek.

Botobekov said Ilmiyanov was seeking influence as well as personal gain.

A court in Bishkek found Botobekov guilty of libel in August 2015 and ordered him to pay a fine of 1.8 million soms ($23,700).

Botobekov dismissed the court's decision as politically motivated. His current whereabouts are unknown.

Paval Dabravolski was then detained and fined by the same court on charges of hooliganism and disobeying the police.
Paval Dabravolski was then detained and fined by the same court on charges of hooliganism and disobeying the police.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has condemned an attack against a journalist that was carried out earlier this week by police in Belarus.

The OSCE's representative on freedom of the media, Dunja Mijatovic, issued a statement on January 27 calling on the authorities in Minsk to ensure Paval Dabravolski's safety.

Dabravolski, a journalist with the Tut.by news website, was beaten by police while covering the detention of two protesters in a court building in Minsk on January 25.

Dabravolski's face was bruised in the attack. He was then detained and fined by the same court on charges of hooliganism and disobeying the police.

Dabravolski says the police also erased data from his mobile phone.

Mijatovic called the situation "unacceptable," and said police "should facilitate the work of journalists, not obstruct their activities and intimidate them."

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"Watchdog" is a blog with a singular mission -- to monitor the latest developments concerning human rights, civil society, and press freedom. We'll pay particular attention to reports concerning countries in RFE/RL's broadcast region.

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