Kyrgyzstan’s president has withdrawn a contentious draft bill that has sparked criticism over its potential for restricting freedom of speech.

Sadyr Japarov’s press secretary said in a Facebook post on March 13 that the president took the decision to seek a revision of the bill after meeting with the editors of major local publications.

The meeting between Japarov and representatives of media outlets was also attended by the head of the security services, Kamchybek Tashiyev, deputy prime minister Edil Baisalov, Prosecutor General Kurmankul Zulushev, and Interior Minister Ulan Niyazbekov.

Japarov’s spokesman, Askat Alagozov, did not divulge in his Facebook post which specific aspect of the proposed law has triggered the pause.

Media in Kyrgyzstan are currently regulated by legislation adopted in 1992. Last May, Japarov’s administration began floating amendments that critics have said were designed to complicate the work of journalists. A draft put forward by the executive in December was met with widespread criticism from local journalists, as well as international and local human rights organizations.

The main area of contention is the bureaucratic difficulties the bill would create for the media. Under current rules, outlets only need to seek special accreditation for their reporters to work at strategically sensitive locations or to cover international events. The amendments would have required journalists to obtain permission to operate at a far broader array of locations and occasions.

The legislation would have given officials the authority to strip a journalist of their accreditation if their coverage was deemed to discredit them.

Media advocates were also alarmed by proposed provisions making journalists liable for producing content perceived as calling for public unrest or toppling the government, promoting same-sex marriage and “non-traditional sexual relationships,” or harming “public morals.” Critics argue that what is deemed as falling under those categories is necessarily subjective and liable to political manipulation in a country where the justice system is viewed as operating at the government’s behest.

Proponents of the bill, meanwhile, argued that the 1990s law was no longer fit for purpose and that it was incumbent on the authorities to “shape the social responsibility of journalists.”

“The events of recent years in the world show a clear need to strengthen the information sovereignty of the Kyrgyz Republic,” the bill’s sponsors wrote in a supporting note.

The bill had been green-lit at committee stage, but was not reviewed in plenary in parliament. With Japarov’s order for a review, the government will be required to make further adjustments.

This is not the first law criticized for restricting freedom of expression introduced in Kyrgyzstan since Japarov came to power in 2020.

Legislation adopted in 2021 — widely known as the “law on fakes” — gave the authorities the power to order internet service providers to block websites containing information that they deem to be false. Judgement calls on what should be determined as true or not rest with the government itself. The tool has been used to muzzle outlets such as RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz service and independent news website Kloop.