Department suspends publisher of protest anthology

TALAS — The Department of Public Information has suspended the registration of Arsha Books, the small publisher in the Citadel Quarter of Talas, citing "a licensing irregularity" in its printing arrangements. The suspension, dated Wednesday, means the press may not take orders, sell books or publish new titles until the department decides otherwise.

Arsha Books published Baylanyshsyz ("Without Connection") in December, a collection of poems by 42 poets written in Talas in October during the student protests and the days without mobile data. The department's letter does not mention the anthology. Talant Imanaliev, who founded the press with Nazgul Ermek in 2009, said the printing arrangements in question had been the same "for fifteen years and three inspections".

"We print in Talas, on a press anyone can visit, and we have the same licence we had last year," Mr. Imanaliev said. "The only thing that has changed is what we printed." The press will appeal to the Talas District Court. Human Rights Watch said in a statement that the suspension was censorship.

A spokesman for the department said the decision was "administrative and not concerned with content". Copies of Baylanyshsyz had sold out at the press's shop by yesterday afternoon.