AKIPRESS.COM - 
Kyrgyzstan, typically rated better than its neighbors, suffered from increased government restrictions on freedom of assembly and civil society groups, The Freedom House said in its Freedom in the World 2015 report published on January 28.
The country's freedom rating scored 5 points, civil liberties - 5, political rights - 5. Each country score is based on two numerical ratings—from 1 to 7—for political rights and civil liberties, with 1 representing the most free and 7 the least free.
The score rated Kyrgyzstan as 'partly free' nation - the only country in Central Asia with such scores.
"Kyrgyzstan received a downward trend arrow due to a government crackdown on freedom of assembly and the ability of nongovernmental organizations to operate," the Freedom House noted.
Kyrgyzstan's neighbors - Kazakhstan and Tajikistan - were rated 'not free', Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan were 'worst of the worst'.
Freedom in the World 2015 found an overall drop in freedom for the ninth consecutive year. Nearly twice as many countries suffered declines as registered gains—61 to 33—and the number of countries with improvements hit its lowest point since the nine-year erosion began.
Key Findings
Of the 195 countries assessed, 89 (46 percent) were rated Free, 55 (28 percent) Partly Free, and 51 (26 percent) Not Free. All but one region had more countries with declines than with gains. Asia-Pacific had an even split.
In a new and disquieting development, a number of countries lost ground due to state surveillance, restrictions on internet communications, and curbs on personal autonomy.
Ratings for the Middle East and North Africa region were the worst in the world, followed by Eurasia. Syria, a dictatorship mired in civil war and ethnic division and facing uncontrolled terrorism, received the lowest Freedom in the World score of any country in over a decade.
The Worst of the Worst countries are the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
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Kazakhstan and Tajikistan 'not free' states: Freedom in the World 2015