Prosecutors say a Kyrgyz police officer has been arrested in the beating of a reporter who later died from his injuries, AP reported.
Almaz Tashiyev's death last week reinforced concerns about the risks faced by independent journalists in the Central Asian nation. It also came after a series of attacks on reporters ahead of next week's presidential election.
Prosecutors in the southern town of Nookat said Friday that junior lieutenant Shukurbek Nurmatov was arrested Thursday on suspicion of being involved in the beating and ordered held pending further investigation.
Thirty-two-year-old Tashiyev was a social affairs reporter whose articles in the newspaper Agym often criticized the government.
His relatives said Monday that Tashiyev told them he had been beaten by eight police officers.