Kyrgyz lawmakers on June 27 approved the second and third readings of a bill requiring all judges in the Central Asian country to speak Kyrgyz at no less than the B1 intermediate level. Those without that proficiency will not be eligible to serve as judges. In July 2023, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov signed into law a bill that obliges all officials to be able to speak Kyrgyz for official purposes. Kyrgyz, a Turkic language, is Kyrgyzstan's state language, while Russian has the status of an official language. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, click here.
