BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — A rights group in Kyrgyzstan has called for an end to a block that has been imposed on a number of web sites in the past week.

The For Democracy and Civil Society coalition said in a statement Friday that it is disturbed by what it called a coordinated attack by the government on freedom of speech and the right to information.

Several prominent Central Asia-focused news sites based in Russia and Kyrgyzstan have been inaccessible to Kyrgyz Internet users since Wednesday.

The rights group said the sites affected by the block had all reported on an arrest warrant recently issued by Italian authorities for a U.S. businessman currently advising the Kyrgyz government.

The group says broadcasts by U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Kyrgyz Service have also been halted since Thursday.