By AFP - Agence France Presse
Kyrgyzstan is seeking to shut down the local service of US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty over a report on last year's fatal clashes with Tajikistan, the authorities said on Monday.
The culture ministry said it had filed a lawsuit to shut down award-winning Radio Azattyk, one of the main media outlets in the Central Asian country.
The former Soviet republic enjoys relative freedom of speech compared to other countries in the region but rights groups have repeatedly denounced growing pressure on the media.
A representative of the culture ministry confirmed to AFP that a lawsuit had been filed.
Earlier in the day, Azattyk said the radio station was in hot water over its refusal to remove a video about last year's deadly clashes between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in September, in which around 100 people died.
Azattyk has nearly two million subscribers on its Youtube channel. It regularly reports on the political opposition and investigates alleged corruption.
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