The wife of killed independent
Kyrgyz journalist Gennady Pavlyuk said yesterday he had been told his name was on a "black list," RFE's Kazakh Service reports.
Yelena Pavlyuk was testifying at the trial of two Kazakh citizens and a
Kyrgyz national who is an ex-security service agent who are accused of killing
her husband in the Kazakh city of Almaty.
The trial began on June 6. The three defendants have pleaded not
guilty.
Pavlyuk, 51, was thrown from the sixth floor of an Almaty building on December
16, 2009, with his arms and legs bound. He died in a hospital six days later.
At today's hearing, Pavlyuk said her husband was one of the most successful
journalists in Kyrgyzstan until 2005, when Kurmanbek Bakiev became president.
But Pavlyuk said her husband "started having problems" under the reign of
Bakiev. She said that on August 8, 2009, her husband came home very frustrated.
"He told me that there is some kind of a state board that monitors the
activities of media outlets, and some people close to that board had warned him
that he was included on some kind of 'black list," she said.
Pavlyuk added that her husband told her he had been informed by people close to
the Kyrgyz government that Maksim Bakiev, the son of President Bakiev, said
publicly that he did not want "to see or hear Gennady Pavlyuk."
Pavlyuk said the last time she saw her husband was on December 14, 2009, before
he left for Almaty. "He looked very troubled and very concerned, but he did not
say anything about his problems," she said.
Pavlyuk's relatives and colleagues in Kyrgyzstan say his murder was politically
motivated. But Kazakh investigators claim the killing was an ordinary crime and
had nothing to do with politics.
Kazakh authorities have also not allowed Kyrgyz law enforcement officials to be
involved in the investigation into Pavlyuk's killing.
Pavlyuk, an ethnic Russian, was known in Kyrgyzstan under the pseudonym Rustam
Ibragimbek. He founded the "White Steamer" newspaper and website. He also wrote
for the newspaper "Vecherny Bishkek" (Evening Bishkek) and the Russian weekly
"Argumenty i fakty."
Compiled by RFE's Kazakh service and O wire.
Kyrgyz journalist Gennady Pavlyuk said yesterday he had been told his name was on a "black list," RFE's Kazakh Service reports.
Yelena Pavlyuk was testifying at the trial of two Kazakh citizens and a
Kyrgyz national who is an ex-security service agent who are accused of killing
her husband in the Kazakh city of Almaty.
The trial began on June 6. The three defendants have pleaded not
guilty.
Pavlyuk, 51, was thrown from the sixth floor of an Almaty building on December
16, 2009, with his arms and legs bound. He died in a hospital six days later.
At today's hearing, Pavlyuk said her husband was one of the most successful
journalists in Kyrgyzstan until 2005, when Kurmanbek Bakiev became president.
But Pavlyuk said her husband "started having problems" under the reign of
Bakiev. She said that on August 8, 2009, her husband came home very frustrated.
"He told me that there is some kind of a state board that monitors the
activities of media outlets, and some people close to that board had warned him
that he was included on some kind of 'black list," she said.
Pavlyuk added that her husband told her he had been informed by people close to
the Kyrgyz government that Maksim Bakiev, the son of President Bakiev, said
publicly that he did not want "to see or hear Gennady Pavlyuk."
Pavlyuk said the last time she saw her husband was on December 14, 2009, before
he left for Almaty. "He looked very troubled and very concerned, but he did not
say anything about his problems," she said.
Pavlyuk's relatives and colleagues in Kyrgyzstan say his murder was politically
motivated. But Kazakh investigators claim the killing was an ordinary crime and
had nothing to do with politics.
Kazakh authorities have also not allowed Kyrgyz law enforcement officials to be
involved in the investigation into Pavlyuk's killing.
Pavlyuk, an ethnic Russian, was known in Kyrgyzstan under the pseudonym Rustam
Ibragimbek. He founded the "White Steamer" newspaper and website. He also wrote
for the newspaper "Vecherny Bishkek" (Evening Bishkek) and the Russian weekly
"Argumenty i fakty."
Compiled by RFE's Kazakh service and O wire.