Another newspaper, Kriminal, was closed after one edition for alleged violations of the mass media law. The edition had been extremely critical of the President and his wife, the Prime Minister, and other government officials. In May the journalists Zamira Sydykova and A. Alyanchikov were sentenced to 18 months in prison for criminal libel against a prominent industrialist. In August Sydykova was released after her appeal reduced the sentence to the time she had already served. She is continuing her journalist activities.
Academic freedom is respected.
Excerpted from the U.S. Department of State Human Rights Report For 1997. Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, January 30, 1998. If link is out of date, see State Department home page.