Kyrgyzstan outstrips other Central Asian states in Press Freedom Index, Turkmenistan is at bottom of rankings

AKIPRESS.COM - Uzbekistan climbed 4 positions and was ranked 156th among 180 countries in the 2020 World Press Freedom Index released by the Reporters Without Borders.
The press freedom situation remains difficult.
Access to websites that were censored for years has been unblocked. Media registration has been made easier. Live political broadcasts have made an appearance and some journalists are now covering sensitive subjects such as corruption and forced labour. However, criticizing the highest level of government is still out of the question. The authorities are in no hurry to carry out the necessary reforms to the laws that constrain the media. Surveillance, censorship and self-censorship are still present and the authorities maintain a significant level of control over the media. Bloggers are still being threatened or arrested, says the report.
Kazakhstan comes next on the 157th place. Tajikistan is 161st. Turkmenistan is on the 179th place. These two countries are in the so-called black zone - the states with the worst press freedom situation.
Kyrgyzstan is ranked 82nd. It is the only country in Central Asia where press freedom is considered as problematic situation.
The pluralism of the Kyrgyz media is exceptional in Central Asia but the polarization of Kyrgyz society is reflected both within the media themselves and in the environment for journalists. Although the crackdown on the media that preceded the 2017 presidential elections is long over, investigative journalism is still hesitant. Revelations about corruption can still be very dangerous for independent journalists and media outlets. There is still a great deal of self-censorship on such subjects as inter-ethnic relations. Certain kinds of hate speech still go punished, but the fight against "extremism" is sometimes used as grounds for ill-advised prosecutions of social media users, says the report.
Norway tops the Index for the fourth year in a row in 2020, while Finland is again the runner-up. Denmark (up 2 at 3rd) is next as both Sweden (down 1 at 4th) and the Netherlands (down 1 at 5th) have fallen as a result of increases in cyber-harassment. The other end of the Index has seen little change. North Korea (down 1 at 180th) has taken the last position from Turkmenistan, while Eritrea (178th) continues to be Africa's worst-ranked country.