Uwazi

A Kyrgyz court has sent a veteran anti-government political critic to prison, canceling a five-year suspended sentence after prosecutors argued it was too lenient. The April 5 ruling by the Bishkek City Court means 47-year-old Zarina Torokulova must serve out her sentence in a correctional colony. Bailiffs detained her immediately after the ruling was handed down. In January, Torokulova was found guilty of calling for mass disorder in a series of Facebook posts. She insisted she had nothing to do with them. A vocal critic of the government, Torokulova has twice run for a seat on the city council of the Kyrgyz capital.

On 12 March 2024, the Pervomaisky District Court in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, upheld pre-trial detention for eight human rights defenders and journalists associated with the Temirov Live media outlet and the Ayt Ayt Dese project. They are to remain in Pre-trial Detention Centre #1 until 13 May 2024. Additionally, the court replaced pre-trial detention with a travel ban for three of the individuals.

Among them, Makhabat Tazhibek Kyzy, the Head of Temirov Live and Ayt Ayt Dese, was ordered to remain in detention despite having a 12-year-old son. She, along with journalist Akyn Azamat Ishenbekov, is suspected of organizing "calls for mass civil unrest," which are criminal offenses according to Part 2 of Article 41 and Part 3 of Article 278 of Kyrgyzstan's Criminal Code. Other detained journalists include Ayke Beyshekeeva, Saipidin Sultanaliyev, Aktilek Kaparov, Tynystan Aspbekov, Zhoodar Buzumov, and Maksat Tazhibek Uulu. Three journalists, Saparbek Akunbekov, Aqyl Ozorbekov, and Zhumabek Turdaliyev, were released under a travel ban. If found guilty, Makhabat Tazhibek kyzy and Azamat Ishenbekov can face up to 10 years in prison, while the rest of the human rights defenders can face up to 8 years of imprisonment.

Following their arrest on 16 January 2024, the human rights defenders and journalists were initially held in the Temporary Detention Ward for 12 days. Conditions were poor, lacking heating, showers, and proper bedding. Authorities claimed this delay was due to the need for proper identification documents, though human rigths defender and journalist Bolot Temirov reported that lawyers representing Temirov Live and Ayt Ayt Dese journalists have not received any request to provide additional personal identity documentation from the investigation. He suggested that this 12-days detention in the pre-trial detention ward is an act of additional pressure agains the former and current representatives of the human rights media outlet.

Human rights defenders and journalists associated with Temirov Live and Ayt Ayt Dese also faced defamation, with President Sadyr Japarov labeling them as "bloggers" rather than journalists, accusing them of irresponsibly publishing information that threatens national security.

Front Line Defenders condemns the prosecution of these individuals and believes it is retaliation for their legitimate human rights work. They urge Kyrgyzstan’s authorities to release the detained journalists, close the case, and end the judicial harassment of human rights defenders and independent journalists.

On 5 April 2024, woman human rights defender and journalist Makhabat Tazhibek Kyzy, was reportedly physically assaulted by law enforcement officers in Pre-Trial Detention Center #1 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. According to her lawyer, the woman human rights defender suffered bruises on her arms and her face, along with the left side of her jaw. She is also experiencing severe headaches as a result of the assault. At time of writing, it remains unclear whether the woman human rights defender has access to medical support. Makhabat Tazhibek Kyzy is a woman human rights defender and journalist who serves as the director of Temirov Live and Ayt Ayt Dece. Temirov Live is a YouTube-based media outlet that investigates and reports on corruption by state and non-state actors in Kyrgyzstan, founded in 2020 by Bolot Temirov, a prominent Kyrgyzstani human rights defender and journalist. Ayt Ayt Dese is a YouTube-based project aimed at popularizing human rights issues through the performance and publication of folk songs on human rights topics. Among other topics, Ayt Ayt Dese has covered investigations by Temirov Live. On 6 April 2024, human rights defender and journalist Bolot Temirov reported in his personal Telegram channel that on 5 April 2024, Makhabat Tazhibek Kyzy and four of her cellmates were subjected to physical violence in the pre-trial detention center by a law enforcement officer from the State Penitentiary Service, Aqyl Ryskulov. Bolot Temirov suggested that this exposure to physical violence was retaliation for Makhabat Tazhibek Kyzy’s official complaints about psychological violence by another prison staff member, submitted on 20 March 2024. The woman human rights defender also reported to her lawyer that the prison psychologist questioned her about her work in human rights media. On 6 April 2024, representatives of the National Center for the Prevention of Torture of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan – a part of the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman in Kyrgyzstan visited Pre-Trial Detention Center #1. They accepted a complaint on behalf of Makhabat Tazhibek Kyzy and compiled a report documenting evidence of inhumane treatment. However, the staff of Pre-Trial Detention Center #1 prevented the representatives from taking pictures of the bruises, despite theere being no rules again such actions. On 16 January 2024, law enforcement officers in Kyrgyzstan raided the office of the media outlet Temirov Live and detained 11 human rights journalists, including Makhabat Tazhibek Kyzy, for alleged calls for mass civil unrest in one of the corruption investigations published by media outlets Temirov.Live and Ayt Ayt Dece. The woman human rights defender will remain in Pre-trial Detention Center #1 until 13 May 2024, despite having a 12-year-old son. The investigation suggests that the woman human rights defender is one of the "organizers" behind the "calls for mass civil unrest," criminal offenses envisaged by Part 2 of Article 41 and Part 3 of Article 278 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. Front Line Defenders expresses grave concerns about the reported physical and psychological violence inflicted upon woman human rights defender Makhabat Tazhibek Kyzy while in detention,and condemns the detention of human rights defenders and independent journalists in Kyrgyzstan, including the detention of Makhabat Tazhibek Kyzy, viewing it as reprisal against legitimate and peaceful human rights work. Front Line Defenders organization is gravely concerned about the wave of repressions faced by human rights defenders and journalists in the country. In recent years, Kyrgyzstan’s authorities have refused accreditations to media outlets, passed laws restricting their activities, and filed lawsuits against independent journalists.

Kyrgyz activist Askat Jetigen has been sent to pretrial detention for at least two months while an investigation into his alleged calls for mass unrest continues. The decision by a Bishkek court on March 20 came just two days after Jetigen, who was initially detained over the weekend, was released from custody and ordered not leave the country. Jetigen is known for his criticism of the Kyrgyz government. His last video criticizing reforms by the Culture Ministry aired on March 15. Human rights groups have criticized the Kyrgyz government for using the charge "calls for mass unrest" as a tool to muzzle dissent.

Kyrgyzstan authorities should immediately drop charges against current and former Temirov Live staff, release all eight detained journalists, and reverse its crackdown on the independent press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the Pervomaisky District Court in the capital, Bishkek, extended by two months the pre-trial detention of Temirov Live director Makhabat Tajibek kyzy and the outlet’s current and former staff members Aike Beishekeyeva, Azamat Ishenbekov, Saipidin Sultanaliev, Aktilek Kaparov, Tynystan Asypbekov, Joodar Buzumov, and Maksat Tajibek uulu, according to news reports.

The court also ordered Temirov Live journalist Sapar Akunbekov and camera operator Akyl Orozbekov released into house arrest and freed the outlet’s former project manager Jumabek Turdaliev under a travel ban.

All 11 continue to face charges of inciting mass unrest, which carries a jail sentence of up to eight years under Article 278, Part 3, of Kyrgyzstan’s criminal code.

“The mass detention of journalists linked to investigative outlet Temirov Live is emblematic of Kyrgyzstan’s intensifying press freedom crisis,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, in New York. “By extending their incarceration, the country’s authorities are signalling their intention to continue this repressive course.”

In a series of raids on January 16, police searched Temirov Live’s office and the 11 journalists’ homes and arrested the journalists over unspecified videos by Temirov Live and sister project Ait Ait Dese. Court documents reviewed by CPJ accused Tajibek kyzy of “discrediting” state organs in those videos, “which could lead to various forms of mass unrest.”

A local partner of global investigative network Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), Temirov Live is known for its anti-corruption investigations into senior government officials and has more than 265,000 subscribers on its YouTube channels. Authorities deported the outlet’s Kyrgyzstan-born founder Bolot Temirov in 2022 and banned him from entering the country for five years in connection to his reporting.

In recent months, Kyrgyz authorities have launched an unprecedented crackdown on independent reporting in a country previously seen as a regional haven for the free press. On January 15, security services raided privately owned news website 24.kg and opened a criminal case for “propaganda of war.” In February, a court shuttered Kloop, another OCCRP partner.

In April 2023, a court ordered the closure of Radio Azattyk, the local service of U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), but reversed the decision in July after the outlet deleted a report that authorities had demanded to be removed.

On February 9, 2024, Oktyabr’ District Court ruled to shut down Kloop Media. On 22 August 2023, the Prosecutor's Office of the city of Bishkek filed a motion to shut down the human rights media outlet Kloop Media (Kloop) in the Oktyabrskiy and Pervomaiskiy district courts of Bishkek. The main reason cited by the Prosecutor’s office to shut down the organization is that Kloop allegedly carried out activities, specifically media activities, that go beyond the scope of the charter of the human rights organization. Kloop Media will appeal this decision in Bishkek City Court.

Kloop Media (Kloop) is a human rights media outlet in Kyrgyzstan. It was founded in 2007 and gained recognition in 2010 for its prompt and transparent coverage of the April 2010 revolution in Kyrgyzstan. Kloop strives to adhere to the principles of independence, impartiality, honesty, and accuracy while sharing information that holds significance to the public. It has used investigative journalism to document human rights violations, focusing on topics that include corruption, armed conflicts, and violations in such contexts.

In 2023, the authorities commissioned a forensic linguistic review and a forensic review from the perspective of political science of Kloop’s content. The motion cites excerpts from these forensic reviews that accuse Kloop, among many things, of convincing the population to negatively assess Kyrgyzstan’s relations with Russia and form a negative impression of the actions of the state authorities. During both hearings on February 5 and February 9, the Court heard authors of expert reviews, whose reviews became the basis of the Prosecutor's Office’s claim to shut down Kloop Media. During the February 5 hearing the author of the expert review that was specifically cited in the initial Prosecutor’s claim, confirmed that the review has no grounds and needs to be redone. They confessed that they just signed the review, but never authored it, and thus can’t respond to the questions of the defense attorney.

Another major issue highlighted by the Kloop Media attorneys about the expert reviews concerns the fact that the body of texts that they’ve analyzed was comprised of the official publications of Kloop, and from the personal publication of Kloop’s ex-founder Bektour Iskander, who resigned from the media outlet in November 2023.

All seven experts, who have provided a so-called “psychiatric” review of Kloop’s publications continued to argue that Kloop fails their civic responsibility as their publications impact the growing amount of people with mental health issues and provoke migration of people from Batken Region. One of the experts on the stand argued that the fact that Kloop in their articles criticizes the state authorities provokes panic and “augmentation of psychiatric diseases;” the expert at the same time failed to provide any statistical data to support this claim. Another expert claimed that Kloop “deliberately invaded the consciousness of literally every citizen of Kyrgyzstan;” however, couldn’t confirm if Kloop was able to invade their consciousness, too. None of the experts provided any statistical data or any data to confirm their claims; despite this during the deliberations, the Prosecutor continued to claim that all the experts had given “clear responses to all the questions.”

During the hearing on February 9, 2024, the representative of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, continued to state that Kloop Media is registered as a foundation, not as a media outlet, and thus can’t produce media content. At the same time, Kloop Media re-registered and changed the statute of the foundation, that allows human rights defenders to register a media outlet. Kloop Media attorneys of February 5 argued that the Prosecutor's Office’s lawsuit should be dropped, as the violation itself – inconsistency of the Kloop Media foundation’s statute and its activities – was eliminated. On February 9, the Prosecutor filed a motion to prohibit any further activities considering the re-registering of Kloop Media; the Court partially fulfilled the motion.

Front Line Defenders condemns the decision to shut down Kloop Media, as it believes that the media outlet is being targeted for its peaceful and legitimate human rights work. Front Line Defenders remains concerned about the scope of threats against human rights defenders and journalists in Kyrgyzstan and argues that in the context of repressive legislative initiatives concerning the work of media and NGOs, the targeting of Kloop fits into the recent pattern of systemic limiting of rights and freedoms of human rights defenders.

A Kyrgyz court on February 15 confined independent journalist Ali Ergeshev to house arrest until at least March 13 on a hooliganism charge. Ergeshev was detained two days earlier at the Manas airport in Bishkek amid an ongoing crackdown on independent media in the country that once had the most vibrant media space across the region. Last month, 11 former and current reporters of the Temirov Live investigative group were arrested on a charge of "calling for disobedience and mass riots" over the group's reporting. Other Kyrgyz media and reporters have been under pressure in recent months.

The Birinchi Mai district court in Bishkek told RFE/RL on February 5 that activist Kanykei Aranova, who was extradited from Moscow last week, was placed in preliminary detention until March 22 as part of a case concerning protests against a Kyrgyz-Uzbek border deal that led to the arrests of 27 activists, politicians, and journalists. Aranova was charged with inciting hatred and public calls to seize power. The 37-year-old Aranova left Kyrgyzstan for Russia in 2022 after she openly protested the border demarcation deal, which saw Kyrgyzstan hand over the territory of the Kempir-Abad water reservoir to Uzbekistan.

Responding to a series of detentions of journalists affiliated with independent Kyrgyzstani media outlets and raids on their homes and offices, Maisy Weicherding, Amnesty International’s Central Asia Researcher, said:

“The actions of the Kyrgyzstani authorities represent a new overt attack on the right to freedom of expression and seriously undermine the country’s obligations under international human rights law. Dawn raids on journalists’ homes, detaining them under vague and overly-broad charges, and denying them access to legal representation, are worrying signs of an escalation in the crackdown on critical voices in Kyrgyzstan.

“The use of vague and unsubstantiated charges like ‘inciting unrest’ and ‘propaganda of war’ blatantly exposes the arbitrary nature of these criminal proceedings. The authorities in Kyrgyzstan must stop their repression of dissent and immediately and unconditionally free these journalists and all others who have been thrown behind bars solely for freely expressing their views and ideas.”

The authorities in Kyrgyzstan must stop their repression of dissent and immediately and unconditionally free these journalists and all others who have been thrown behind bars solely for freely expressing their views and ideas

Maisy Weicherding, Amnesty International’s Central Asia Researcher Background

On 16 January, during a heavy-handed police operation, 11 journalists, including those associated with “Ait Ait Dese” and Temirov Live projects, were taken to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for interrogation. Among those targeted was Makhabat Tazhibek-kyzy, the wife of investigative journalist Bolot Temirov, who was previously expelled from Kyrgyzstan.

The 11 journalists are known for their past or current involvement with Temirov’s projects. Upon being brought in for questioning, they were denied access to a lawyer.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the mass searches and detentions were part of a criminal investigation into alleged “calls for active disobedience […] and for mass riots, as well as calls for violence against citizens” (Article 278(3) of the Criminal Code) stemming from non-specified “content on social media.”

On 15 January, law enforcement conducted a search at the 24.kg news agency in Bishkek, confiscating equipment and sealing the office as part of a criminal case under “propaganda of war” (Article 497 of the Criminal Code). The agency’s top management, including General Director Asel Otorbaeva and Editor-in-Chief Anton Lymar, were detained for questioning but later released. They were summoned for interrogation again on 17 January.

Amnesty International has documented the deterioration of the right to freedom of expression in Kyrgyzstan, including the closure or restriction of the activities of independent media outlets and the criminal prosecution of activists, including in the so-called “Kempir-Abad case.”

On 17 January 2024, Pervomaiskiy district court of Bishkek sent 11 journalists and human rights defenders, current and former reporters of the Temirov Live investigative group, to pretrial detention until 13 March 2024. Among them are Makhabat Tazhibek kyzy, Sapar Akunbekov, Ayke Beishekeeva, Joodar Buzumov, Aktilek Kaparov, Saipidin Sultanaliev, Tynystan Asypbek, Maksat Tajibek uulu, Azamat Ishenbekov, Zhumabek Turdaliev and Akyl Orozbekov. All human rights defenders are suspected in "calling for mass civil unrest" whereas Makhabat Tazhibek kyzy and Azamat Ishenbekov are also labelled as “organizers” of the said mass civil unrest. If found guilty, Makhabat Tazhibek kyzy and Azamat Ishenbekov can face up to 10 years in prison, and the rest of the defenders – up to 8 years of imprisonment.

Temirov Live is a YouTube-based media outlet that investigates and reports on corruption of state and non-state actors in Kyrgyzstan. It was founded in 2020 by Bolot Temirov, a Kyrgyzstani human rights defender and prominent journalist whose work focuses on investigating corruption. Ayt Ayt Dese is a YouTube-based project which aims at popularising human rights issues by performing and publishing folk songs on human rights topics. Among others, in its songs Ayt Ayt Dese has covered the investigations of Temirov Live.

Responding to a series of detentions of journalists affiliated with independent Kyrgyzstani media outlets and raids on their homes and offices, Maisy Weicherding, Amnesty International’s Central Asia Researcher, said:

“The actions of the Kyrgyzstani authorities represent a new overt attack on the right to freedom of expression and seriously undermine the country’s obligations under international human rights law. Dawn raids on journalists’ homes, detaining them under vague and overly-broad charges, and denying them access to legal representation, are worrying signs of an escalation in the crackdown on critical voices in Kyrgyzstan.

“The use of vague and unsubstantiated charges like ‘inciting unrest’ and ‘propaganda of war’ blatantly exposes the arbitrary nature of these criminal proceedings. The authorities in Kyrgyzstan must stop their repression of dissent and immediately and unconditionally free these journalists and all others who have been thrown behind bars solely for freely expressing their views and ideas.”

The authorities in Kyrgyzstan must stop their repression of dissent and immediately and unconditionally free these journalists and all others who have been thrown behind bars solely for freely expressing their views and ideas

Maisy Weicherding, Amnesty International’s Central Asia Researcher Background

On 16 January, during a heavy-handed police operation, 11 journalists, including those associated with “Ait Ait Dese” and Temirov Live projects, were taken to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for interrogation. Among those targeted was Makhabat Tazhibek-kyzy, the wife of investigative journalist Bolot Temirov, who was previously expelled from Kyrgyzstan.

The 11 journalists are known for their past or current involvement with Temirov’s projects. Upon being brought in for questioning, they were denied access to a lawyer.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the mass searches and detentions were part of a criminal investigation into alleged “calls for active disobedience […] and for mass riots, as well as calls for violence against citizens” (Article 278(3) of the Criminal Code) stemming from non-specified “content on social media.”

On 15 January, law enforcement conducted a search at the 24.kg news agency in Bishkek, confiscating equipment and sealing the office as part of a criminal case under “propaganda of war” (Article 497 of the Criminal Code). The agency’s top management, including General Director Asel Otorbaeva and Editor-in-Chief Anton Lymar, were detained for questioning but later released. They were summoned for interrogation again on 17 January.

Amnesty International has documented the deterioration of the right to freedom of expression in Kyrgyzstan, including the closure or restriction of the activities of independent media outlets and the criminal prosecution of activists, including in the so-called “Kempir-Abad case.”

The Chui regional court in Kyrgyzstan's north has upheld a lower court decision to change the parole-like sentence of activist and blogger Adilet Ali Myktybek, known on social media as Adilet Baltabai, to actual imprisonment.

It is not the first time that Myktybek's parole-like sentence has been revised since his initial arrest and trial last year.

Myktybek, known for his articles critical of the Central Asian country's government, was initially arrested in June last year after he was questioned by the Bishkek police about his coverage of rallies by civil rights activists.

He was sentenced to five years in prison in November 2022 on a charge of calling for social unrest via the Internet, allegations he has rejected as politically motivated.

The court ruled at the time that Myktybek would not have to serve his prison sentence immediately, but instead would be under a three-year parole-like probation period. If he served that period without any violations, the court said his five-year prison term would be canceled.

Following his release in November 2022, Myktybek continued his blogging activities and took part in a rally on January 10 to express support for 27 jailed Kyrgyz politicians and activists arrested in October 2022 for protesting a border deal with Uzbekistan.

After Myktybek attended the rally, the Bishkek City Court ruled to send the blogger to a prison at the request of prosecutors, who considered Myktybek's sentence too lenient.

However, Kyrgyzstan's Supreme Court in April reinstated Myktybek's parole-like probation and released him.

Myktybek was rearrested last week after a court ruled in late November that the blogger had "violated" his parole by traveling from his native town of Sokuluk to the capital, Bishkek.

On December 18, the blogger’s parents, Myktybek Baltabaev and Saikal Junusova, issued an open letter to the Kyrgyz government saying their son had not committed any crime but was using his right to express his thoughts and opinions, which is guaranteed by the Kyrgyz Constitution.

The Bishkek City Court on December 28 rejected appeals against prolonging the detention of 11 jailed Kyrgyz politicians, journalists, and activists who are on trial along with other 16 people who are under house arrest over their protest last year against a Kyrgyz-Uzbek border delimitation deal. In late November, a lower court extended their detention until at least January 29. The activists were arrested in October 2022 after they protested against the controversial Kyrgyz-Uzbek border demarcation deal, which saw Kyrgyzstan hand over the territory of the Kempir-Abad water reservoir to Uzbekistan in November 2022.

Kyrgyz activist Aftandil Jorobekov, who openly protested against amending Kyrgyzstan's national flag, has been detained after being charged with calling for mass disorder and disobeying the authorities' legal requirements, his lawyer told RFE/RL late on December 7. The bill that was approved by lawmakers in its first reading last week says that the wavy yellow sunrays on a red field on the current flag give the impression of a sunflower. The Kyrgyz word for sunflower is kunkarama, which also has a second meaning -- "dependent." The bill would allow the "straightening" of the sunrays to make it look more like a sun.

The prosecutor in the trial of Kyrgyz blogger Yryskeldi Jekshenaliev, who was arrested in August on charges of making public calls for mass disorder and violence, asked a Bishkek court on November 16 to convict and sentence the defendant to seven years in prison. The probe against the 20-year-old blogger was launched in August 2022. His arrest came hours after President Sadyr Japarov condemned unspecified "defenders" of the environment in the region, calling them "false patriots and liars." The charges against Jekshenaliev stem from his Facebook posts about ecological problems at an iron-ore mining complex.

The independent Kloop website's Kyrgyz-language pages (ky.kloop.asia) have been blocked in Kyrgyzstan after its Russian site was blocked in September amid ongoing pressure on the owner, the Kloop Media Public Foundation.

The Central Asian nation's Culture Ministry blocked Kloop's Kyrgyz site after the State Committee of National Security (UKMK) again claimed the media outlet distributed false information, Kloop said on November 9.

The claim was about a report that appeared on Kloop's website in September about jailed opposition politician Ravshan Jeenbekov and a statement he made saying that he was tortured while in custody.

Several Internet providers in the former Soviet republic blocked Kloop's site in Russian before the story ran. The Bishkek city Prosecutor's Office then initiated legal proceedings against the Kloop Media Public Foundation to suspend its work in Kyrgyzstan because of the critical coverage of the government by its media outlet.

The Culture Ministry also demanded Kloop remove an article about the alleged torture of Jeenbekov from its site in Russian.

On September 12, Kloop published an article refusing to remove the material, saying the story in question attributed all information about the situation faced by Jeenbekov while in custody to actual individuals and sources.

Kloop said at the time that it was officially informed of the lawsuit against it and the move followed an audit by the UKMK that determined its "published materials are aimed at sharply criticizing the policies of the current government" and that "most of the publications are purely negative, aimed at discrediting representatives of state and municipal bodies."

Established in June 2007, Kloop is a Kyrgyz news website (kloop.kg) most of whose contributors are students and graduates of the Kloop Media Public Foundation School of Journalism. As an independent media entity, it is known for publishing reports on corruption within various governmental bodies and providing training to Central Asian journalists in fact-checking and investigative techniques.

RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, known as Radio Azattyk, Kloop, and the Center for Corruption and Organized Crime Research (OCCRP) have collaborated on a series of investigations concerning corruption in Kyrgyzstan.

Kyrgyzstan's civil society and free press have traditionally been the most vibrant in Central Asia. But that has changed amid a deepening government crackdown.

Kyrgyz authorities blocked Radio Azattyk's websites in Kyrgyz and Russian in late October 2022 after it refused to take down a video, which was produced by Current Time, a Russian-language network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with Voice of America.

Officials of the Central Asian state claimed that the authors of the video "predominantly" took the position of the Tajik side. RFE/RL rejected the accusation saying the broadcaster "takes our commitment to balanced reporting seriously" and that after a review of the content in question, "no violation of our standards" was found.

In July, the Bishkek court annulled the decision that shut down RFE/RL's operations in Kyrgyzstan.

The independent Kloop website has been blocked in Kyrgyzstan amid ongoing pressure on the website's owner, the Kloop Media Public Foundation, further raising fears that officials are curbing rights to free speech and an independent media.

Kloop said on September 13 that several providers in the Central Asian nation had blocked its website just two weeks after the Bishkek city Prosecutor's Office initiated legal proceedings against the Kloop Media Public Foundation to suspend its work in Kyrgyzstan because of the critical coverage of the government by its media outlet.

The Culture Ministry also had demanded Kloop remove an article about the alleged torture of jailed opposition politician Ravshan Jeenbekov.

On September 12, Kloop published an article refusing to remove the material, saying that the story in question attributed all information about the situation faced by Jeenbekov while in custody to actual individuals and sources.

Kloop said at the time it was officially informed of the lawsuit against it that the move was taken after an audit by the State Committee for National Security (UKMK) determined its "published materials are aimed at sharply criticizing the policies of the current government" and that "most of the publications are purely negative, aimed at discrediting representatives of state and municipal bodies."

Established in June 2007, Kloop is a Kyrgyz news website most of whose contributors are students and graduates of the Kloop Media Public Foundation School of Journalism. As an independent media entity, it is known for publishing reports on corruption within various governmental bodies and providing training to Central Asian journalists in fact-checking and investigative techniques.

RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, Kloop, and the Center for Corruption and Organized Crime Research (OCCRP) have collaborated on a series of investigations concerning corruption in the former Soviet republic.

Kyrgyzstan's civil society and free press have traditionally been the most vibrant in Central Asia. But that has changed amid a deepening government crackdown.

More than 20 people, including NGO leaders and other activists, are currently facing trial on serious charges for their opposition to oppose a controversial border agreement between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan last year.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has urged Kyrgyz authorities to stop the move to liquidate the anti-corruption investigative website, saying it is "an outrageous and deeply cynical attempt to stifle some of Kyrgyzstan’s most probing investigative journalism, including investigations of alleged corruption involving leading state official."

The annual media freedom rankings, published recently by the Reporters Without Borders watchdog, showed Kyrgyzstan falling 50 places to 122nd out of 180 countries.

A Bishkek court on September 13 rejected an appeal filed by noted government critic and journalist Oljobai Shakir (aka Egemberdiev), against his pretrial arrest on a charge of calling online for mass disorder. Shakir was detained on August 23 and one day later sent to pretrial detention until at least October 23. Days before his arrest, Shakir criticized the government's decision to hand four spa facilities near Lake Issyk-Kul to Uzbekistan and called on President Sadyr Japarov and the State Committee of National Security chief Kamchybek Tashiev to participate in public debates with him.

The Birinchi Mai district court in Bishkek said on September 11 that well-known political activist Zarina Torokulova was sent to pretrial detention two days earlier until at least October 30 on unspecified charges. Torokulova was detained last week. Media reports said at the time that she was accused of involvement in "mass unrest." No further details were given. Neither Torokulova's lawyers nor her relatives have commented. Torokulova is known for her criticism of the Kyrgyz government in posts on social media.

Kyrgyzstan's Supreme Court on September 12 rejected an appeal filed by prominent investigative journalist Bolot Temirov against a court decision to deport him to Russia for "illegally obtaining a Kyrgyz passport." Temirov, who has extensively reported about corruption among government officials in Kyrgyzstan, was deported to Moscow in November. Temirov, who held Kyrgyz and Russian passports, has insisted the probe against him was launched after he published the results of his investigation suggesting corruption among top officials in the Central Asian nation.

Kyrgyz authorities have filed a lawsuit to close down Kloop Media Public Foundation, a nonprofit body that runs an independent online news outlet in Kyrgyzstan, Human Rights Watch said today. The move continues a repressive trend against freedom of expression in Kyrgyzstan.

The lawsuit, for which Kloop was officially served on August 28, 2023, was filed by the Bishkek city Prosecutor’s Office alleging Kloop’s failure to register as a mass media outlet and conducting media activity not listed in its charter, which can warrant the liquidation of legal entities under Kyrgyzstan’s civil law code.

The lawsuit also references a pretrial investigation into the foundation’s activities by the Kyrgyz State Committee for National Security, initiated in November 2021 on suspicion that Kloop Media publications had violated article 327 of Kyrgyzstan’s criminal code, which penalizes “making public calls for the violent seizure of power online” with three to five years in prison.

“The lawsuit against Kloop Media is the most recent in a string of attacks on freedom of media and freedom of expression in Kyrgyzstan, all incompatible with the country’s international human rights obligations, as well as its status as a member of the UN Human Rights Council,” said Syinat Sultanalieva, Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Kyrgyz authorities should immediately withdraw the lawsuit and stop harassing independent media in the country.”

Kloop Media is known for its independent reporting on national and regional affairs. It has also collaborated on anti-corruption investigations with the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Kyrgyz Service and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), a global investigative journalism network.

The lawsuit accuses Kloop Media of “sharp criticism of [the] government” and lists a number of articles that it categorizes as critical of the Kyrgyz government’s policies and of state and municipal bodies. The opinions of several court-affiliated legal experts cited in the lawsuit say that Kloop’s publications use “hidden manipulation,” as experts put it, leading to “dissatisfaction” and “distrust” of the authorities among its readership, which could lead to their “zombification” and encourage its readers to join anti-government protests.

The lawsuit also spotlights Kloop’s coverage of the situation in the country’s southern Batken region, which had been the site of two border conflicts between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan over the past two years. A Human Rights Watch report on the most recent conflict, in September 2022, found that forces from both sides committed apparent war crimes in attacks on civilians. The lawsuit alleges that Kloop’s articles about the region are responsible for the continued flow of internal and external migration away from the region, which the lawsuit finds to be compliant with Tajikistan’s strategic goals.

Kloop Media’s lawyer, Fatima Yakupbaeva, said the claims lack a legal basis. She said Kloop does not have to be registered as a mass media outlet because it is a nonprofit organization, which according to its charter provides “an information platform for free expression” and aims to “raise awareness of youth in Kyrgyzstan on current socio-political and economic affairs.”

Representatives of independent media community in Kyrgyzstan issued a joint statement saying that the authorities should withdraw their lawsuit, deeming it untenable and asserting that the Kyrgyz government’s effort to punish Kloop’s “sharp criticism of politics” is protected speech guaranteed by the Kyrgyz Constitution and Kyrgystan’s international human rights obligations. The Committee to Protect Journalists also called for the cessation of the legal action against Kloop Media.

Kyrgyz authorities have previously blocked access to Radio Free Europe’s Kyrgyz service websites, froze its bank account for nine months in October 2022 and pursued a lawsuit to shutter it, and ordered the expulsion of Bolot Temirov, an investigative journalist from Kyrgyzstan, in apparent retaliation for his professional activities.

Kyrgyzstan’s international partners including the European Union, EU member states, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe should urge the government to withdraw the lawsuit and to uphold its commitments to freedom of speech.

“Kyrgyz authorities should withdraw the lawsuit against Kloop Media and cease all attempts at punishing journalists for their professional activities,” Sultanalieva said. “The preservation of independent media is fundamental for a functioning democracy and any attempts to suppress critical voices undermine the democratic values Kyrgyzstan has aspired to uphold.”

Well-known Kyrgyz opposition writer and journalist Oljobay Shakir was summoned by the State Committee for National Security on August 23. After nearly eight hours of questioning, he was detained for 48 hours on charges of "organizing mass unrest" and "attempting to seize power." The Pervomaisky District of Bishkek court will review Shakir's case on August 24. Collaborating with the investigative Temirov Live journalist team, the 52-year-old had criticized the government and opposed the transfer of four Kyrgyz resorts in the Issyk-Kul region to Uzbekistan. Officials have not commented on the arrest.

The Sokuluk district court in Kyrgyzstan's north has sent noted blogger Ertai Iskakov and two activists, Bakyt Balbaev and Baktybek Bekbolotov, to pretrial detention until September 15 over last week's rally by two villages to demand a resumption of drinking water supplies. The men were charged with hooliganism and illegally blocking a highway. The men's lawyers told RFE/RL that their clients pleaded not guilty. Isakov is a well-known blogger who raises social issues in his reports. Several villages near Bishkek, the capital, have faced drinking water shortages for days.

Kyrgyz feminist activist and single mother Altyn Kapalova says she won’t be deterred by the death threats she has received over her campaign to allow mothers to give their children a matronymic instead of the traditional patronymic if they so wish.

Many Kyrgyz in the former Soviet republic still use the Russian-style patronymic, an addition to one’s first name that derives from a father’s first name with the ending “evich” or “ovich” for boys and “evna” or “ovna” for girls.

The campaign by Kapalova led to an unprecedented ruling by the Kyrgyz Constitutional Court two weeks ago to allow adult citizens to swap their patronymic to a matronymic based on their mother’s first name.

Kapalova’s campaign to legalize a matronymic began in late 2020 when she decided to change the names of her three children, giving them her own surname and a matronymic in place of their fathers’ names.

Explaining her decision, Kapalova said the fathers of her children were absent from their lives, never provided any moral or financial support, and often created legal problems by refusing to sign parental-consent forms.

Kapalova challenged the existing rules through several courts, including the Supreme Court that upheld the lower courts’ ruling that prevented Kapalova from giving her children matronymics.

But the Constitutional Court decided on June 30 that the Kyrgyz Law On Acts Of Civil Status -- which only allows patronymics -- is discriminatory and unconstitutional.

The court ruled that citizens at the age of 18 or older can swap their patronymic with a matronymic if they wish.

The court, however, ordered that children will still be given patronymics from birth to prevent them from bullying in Kyrgyzstan’s patriarchal society.

Kapalova, 39, said the court decision marks a partial victory for her. She vowed to continue her campaign until a child can have a matronymic from birth.

Kapalova, who runs a feminist art museum in the capital, Bishkek, said her cause hasn’t been “activism” but that it’s a “family issue” for her and her children.

Divided Opinions

In an interview following the court ruling, Kapalova said she faced death threats and even calls for her to be thrown out of Kyrgyzstan, a Muslim-majority Central Asian nation.

“I am not going anywhere. That is only your wishful thinking,” she said.

Public opinion has been divided on the court ruling that effectively legalized matronymics.

Some welcomed the court ruling as a step forward in gender equality. But others condemn it as pro-Western propaganda and incompatible with traditional Kyrgyz values.

Many women wrote online that it was a victory for single mothers who face legal hurdles in making important decisions for their children -- such as taking them to the hospital and changing their school -- without a consent letter from absent fathers.

Many Kyrgyz mothers raise their children alone with little or no financial support from their former husbands, many of whom work in Russia.

“Thank you on behalf of all single mothers,” Nurjanai wrote on Instagram. “I have long been angry about this, but my small protest was only limited to me using my mother’s name on my Facebook account. I would not have the strength to fight against the system.”

“Amazing news,” wrote Kyrgyz social-media user Aliya Tulibaeva. “I entirely support your position.”

“You demonstrated that even one person can change the system,” wrote Leila Salimova.

Critics wrote that people like Kapalova should have no place in Kyrgyzstan and that her children will face harassment because of their matronymics.

“A radical feminist.... Only after you learned how to get pregnant and have children without the participation of men, you then want to give matronymics to your children,” commented Aisha Sharapova. “I feel sorry for your children.”

“These kinds of people should be sent to exile to Siberia like in the past,” wrote another on social media.

Opinions were divided among Kyrgyz politicians, too.

“There is no such thing as a matronymic. Whoever approved it, they must cancel it too,” said Kamchybek Tashiev, the head of the State Committee for National Security. “This is my personal stance,” the security chief added to his Facebook comment.

Presidential adviser Cholponbek Abykeev said he was against the use of matronymics as it goes against Kyrgyz cultural norms.

“We, the Kyrgyz people, have a tradition that requires us to know the names of our seven ancestors from the father’s side. Knowing your ancestry means preserving your genetics and origins,” he told RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service. “To know the names of your ancestors, we need to preserve your father’s surname.”

But Kyrgyz author Olzhobai Shakir argued that the latest court ruling on family names reflects the reality of people’s lives today.

“There are many men in our society that don’t fulfill their parental duties and abuse children. This is not only about women, but also about children too,” she told RFE/RL.

“We must not deny people [the right] to get a family name of their choice just because we have had certain traditions,” Shakir said.

On 22 May 2023, Kazakhstani human rights defender Galym Agleulov was barred from entering Uzbekistan. The human rights defender was travelling to Tashkent to participate as an observer in the upcoming appeal hearing in the Higher Court of Uzbekistan of the 22 protesters detained in the Karakalpakstan Autonomous Republic in Uzbekistan in July 2022. The court hearing was scheduled for 23 May 2023. Galym Ageleuov is a human rights defender and the head of the human rights organisation Liberty. Throughout his work with Liberty, Galym documented mass executions and other human rights violations during the 2011 labour protests in Zhanaozen. Within the Freedom for Euraisa project, he has documented violations committed by Uzbekistani authorities when suppressing protests in the Karakalpakstan Autonomous Republic. On 22 May 2023, the human rights defender Galym Agleulov was travelling from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan to Tashkent, Uzebekistan, to attend the upcoming appeal hearing of the protesters detained in the Karakalpakstan Autonomous Republic in Uzbekistan in July 2022 at the Higher Court of Uzbekistan. The human rights defender was prohibited from boarding flight HY-778, operated by Uzbekistan Airways. Members of the airport staff informed Galym Agleulov that he had been prohibited from boarding the flight because the Uzbekistani Department of Border Control had informed the airline that the human right defender was barred from entering the country. Galym Agleulov has visited Uzbekistan twice since the summer 2022 protests in the Karakalpakstan Autonomous Republic, both for the purposes of monitoring human rights violations and unlawful detentions, and for the mistrials of the Karakalpak protesters. On this occasion, Galym Agleulov aimed to visit Uzbekistan to attend the appeal hearing of human rights defender Dauletmurat Tajimuratov. In January 2023, after his arbitrary detention in July 2022 in Nukus, Dauletmurat Tajimuratov was accused of seizure of power and organising violent protests and sentenced by Bukhara Regional Court to 16 years in prison. In April 2023, Dauletmurat Tajimuratov’s lawyer, human rights defender Sergey Mayorov, reported that his client was tortured in custody. In June 2022, the President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, introduced constitutional amendments that aimed to remove Karakalpakstan’s status as an autonomous republic. In response to these amendments, peaceful protests were organised in Karakalpakstan. One of the leaders of the peaceful protests, human rights defender and blogger Dauletmurat Tadjimuratov, was arbitrarily detained and the Uzbekistani authorities started to use force to suppress the civil unrest. The authorities implemented an internet shutdown and utilised forceful measures, including water cannons, rubber bullets, stun grenades and tear gas, to disperse the protesters. At least 21 people died during the protests. In March 2023, thirty nine Karakalpak activists accused of taking part in the protests in Nukus were convicted and twenty eight of them were sentenced to prison terms of between five and eleven years, while eleven defendants were handed parole-like sentences. Twenty two protesters, including human rights defender Dauletmurat Tajimuratov, appealed the decision of the Bukhara Regional Court.

Kyrgyz authorities should let the independent news website PolitKlinika work free from fear of legal harassment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday.

On May 6, officers with Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security, or SCNS, summoned PolitKlinika founder and chief editor Dilbar Alimova for questioning about a May 5 article published by the outlet, according to news reports and Alimova, who spoke to CPJ by phone.

Alimova told CPJ that she was outside the capital city of Bishkek at the time, and authorities demanded she return immediately, or they would come with a summons and take her to the city for questioning. However, after she posted about the call on social media, SCNS officers agreed to ask her questions by phone.

The officers did not make it clear why the SCNS was looking into that article, which reported on a letter allegedly written by the speaker of Kyrgyzstan’s parliament to the prosecutor-general, Alimova said, adding that the head of the SCNS was a close political ally of the speaker. The officers asked her about the letter and where the outlet got it from.

After the publication of that article, the speaker’s press secretary said the letter was “fake” and threatened to apply for PolitKlinika’s website to be blocked under Kyrgyzstan’s law on false information unless the outlet deleted its report.

“Alongside their forced closure of RFE/RL’s local service, Kyrgyz authorities seem to have embarked on a systematic course of undermining and intimidating independent media into silence,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, in New York. “Kyrgyz authorities must stop summoning journalists for interrogation over their reporting, and should allow Dilbar Alimova and PolitKlinika to work freely.”

PolitKlinika publishes fact-checking reports, political news, and investigations, those news reports said.

On Monday, May 8, PolitKlinika issued a statement saying the outlet stood by its reporting and noted that it had included a statement from the parliamentary office denying the letter’s authenticity, and had also reached out to the prosecutor-general for comment. The outlet said it was temporarily taking the report down pending a response from the prosecutor-general.

Alimova told CPJ that she felt there was “colossal pressure” on independent media by Kyrgyz authorities, pointing to the April 2023 shuttering of U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s local service Radio Azattyk.

Separately, on February 20, Kyrgyz state broadcaster EITR filed a lawsuit against PolitKlinika and Tynystan Asypbek, a reporter at the outlet, demanding 10 million som (US$115,000) in damages over a February 3 video report alleging that ElTR had made false claims about government borrowing, according to news reports.

Alimova told CPJ that the ongoing court case – in which the state-run channel is seeking 7 million som (US$80,100) from PolitKlinika and 3 million som (US$34,360) from Asypbek for “undermining the reputation of the channel and its staff” – could force the outlet to close.

Alimova said she and PolitKlinika have also been the target of online harassment, which she believes to be coordinated involving social media accounts of employees of state media. CPJ reviewed many posts by users calling for legal action to be taken against the outlet.

Also in February, the SCNS summoned Asel Otorbaeva, general director of independent news website 24.kg, for questioning over comments under a 24.kg report, and in March, the SCNS summoned 24.kg editor Anastasia Mokrenko for questioning about a fake bomb threat on a shopping center that was sent to the outlet and others, according to reports by that outlet.

CPJ emailed the Kyrgyzstan presidency, the SCNS, and ElTR for comment but did not receive any replies.

A court in Bishkek on March 23 fined a noted civil rights activist, Aijan Myrsalieva, 100,000 soms ($1,145), after finding her guilty of inciting hatred. Myrsalieva told RFE/RL that she considers the ruling politically motivated, adding that she will appeal it. Myrsalieva, who is also known as Myrsan, was charged in July. She is known for her harsh online criticism of Kyrgyz authorities. International and domestic rights watchdogs have accused the Kyrgyz government of increasing pressure on independent journalists and bloggers in recent months.

On 25 April 2023, the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Kyrgyztan moved to press additional charges against all representatives of the Committee to Protect Kempir-Abad water reserve, including women human rights defenders Gulnara Dzhurabayeva, Klara Sooronkulova, Rita Karasartova and Asya Sasykbayeva. All representatives, targeted since October 2022, are now being accused of “forcible seizure of power” a criminal offense stipulated by the Article 326 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. Under this article alone women human rights defenders can face up to 15 years of prison time. These aggravated charges can also be a prerequisite for the law enforcement officials to return women human rights defenders Gulnara Dzhurabayeva, Klara Sooronkulova, and Asya Sasykbayeva, who were recently released on house arrest to a pre-trial detention center.

On 12 April 2023, women human rights defenders Gulnara Dzhurabayeva, Klara Sooronkulova, and Asya Sasykbayeva were released on house-arrest from pre-trial detention. On 19 April 2023, Pervomayskii District Court of the City of Bishkek ruled to extend woman human rights defender Rita Karasartova’s pre-trial detention until 20 June 2023. She is the only woman human rights defender detained in response to the work of the Committee to Protect Kempir-Abad water reserve who remains in pre-trial detention. Before the aggravated charges, the women human rights defenders were being accused of conspiring to organise mass riots, a criminal offense envisioned by Article 36-278 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan.

Reacting to the news that a court in Kyrgyzstan approved a Ministry of Culture request to close down Radio Azattyk, the national bureau of the international broadcasting corporation Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), for purported violation of media regulations, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said:

“The closure of Radio Azattyk is not only an act of censorship targeting one media outlet; it is a major blow to freedom of expression in the country. The Kyrgyzstani authorities have taken a further step towards silencing critical coverage of events in the country and muzzling journalists.”

“The allegation made by the Kyrgyzstani authorities, that a video published by Radio Azattyk propagated hatred, is not only false but a manifest pretense. The authorities have been seeking any excuse to shut down an independent media voice.

“The court decision will be challenged on appeal, and Amnesty International reiterates its call for the country’s authorities to withdraw their order to shut down Radio Azattyk altogether, stop the harassment and intimidation of journalists and government critics, and fully respect, protect and facilitate the exercise of the right to freedom of expression for all media in Kyrgyzstan.”

Background

On 27 April, the Lenin District Court of Bishkek, the Kyrgyzstani capital, granted the request of the Ministry of Culture, Information, Sport and Youth to terminate Radio Azattyk’s operations. The reason for the lawsuit was reportedly the publication on Radio Azattyk’s social media channels of a video produced by the radio’s sister organization, Current Time TV, which covered the September 2022 border conflict between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The Kyrgyzstani authorities claimed that the video violated the law “On the Mass Media,” which forbids “propaganda of war, violence and cruelty, national, religious exclusivity and intolerance to other peoples and nations,” and demanded that it be removed.

In October 2022, access to Radio Azattyk’s website was “temporarily” blocked while its bank accounts were frozen, allegedly under national money laundering legislation. In December, the website ban was declared “indefinite” by the authorities.

Over the past year, government critics, journalists and other media workers have been repeatedly harassed in Kyrgyzstan. On 23 November, Bolot Temirov, the founder of the investigative project Temirov Live, was stripped of his Kyrgyz citizenship and forcibly deported to Moscow following his criticism of the authorities.

The Lenin district court in Bishkek has started a hearing into a request from Kyrgyzstan's Culture Information, Sports, and Youth Policies Ministry to halt the operations of RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, known locally as Radio Azattyk and officially registered as Azattyk Media in the Central Asian nation.

The judge opened the hearing on March 17 by allowing the first 20 minutes of the session to be recorded.

The ministry's official request to halt Radio Azattyk's operations as a media outlet was filed with the court in late January.

According to the ministry, the request was made due to Radio Azattyk's refusal to remove from the Internet a video about clashes last year along a disputed segment of the Kyrgyz-Tajik border.

Kyrgyz authorities blocked Radio Azattyk’s websites in Kyrgyz and Russian in late October when the video report in question -- which was produced by Current Time, a Russian-language network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with Voice of America -- was left on the sites.

Officials of the Central Asian nation have claimed that the authors of the video "predominantly" took the position of the Tajik side.

RFE/RL President and Chief Executive Officer Jamie Fly has said the broadcaster "takes our commitment to balanced reporting seriously" and that after a review of the content in question, "no violation of our standards" was found.

The authorities' decision was based on the Law on Protection from False Information, legislation that drew widespread criticism when it was adopted in August 2021.

Radio Azattyk's bank account in Bishkek was frozen at the time, and in November, Kyrgyz authorities suspended the accreditations of 11 RFE/RL correspondents at the country's parliament.

The Kyrgyz government's decision has been criticized by domestic and international human rights watchdogs, Kyrgyz politicians, celebrities, intellectuals, journalists, lawmakers, and rights activists, who have called for the government to repeal it.

RFE/RL has appealed against the move to block the sites with Bishkek's Birinchi Mai district court.

Earlier this month, Bishkek's Administrative Court rejected an appeal launched by RFE/RL that sought to have the October move to block the sites overturned.

The court did not explain the reasoning behind its ruling.

A court in Kyrgyzstan has upheld a decision of the Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports, and Youth Policies to block the websites of RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, known locally as Radio Azattyk, after the broadcaster refused to remove a report on a border dispute with neighboring Tajikistan.

The ruling by Bishkek's Administrative Court was announced on March 7 at an appeal hearing launched by RFE/RL that sought to have the October move to block the sites overturned. The court did not explain the reasoning behind its ruling.

RFE/RL's lawyers said they will appeal the court decision.

Representatives of the Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports, and Youth Policies reiterated at the hearing that their decision was made due to RFE/RL's refusal to remove from its websites a video about deadly clashes along a disputed segment of the Kyrgyz-Tajik border in September, again emphasizing that the video took the position of the Tajik side.

The video in question was produced by Current Time, the Russian-language network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with Voice of America.

RFE/RL President and Chief Executive Officer Jamie Fly said the broadcaster "takes our commitment to balanced reporting seriously" and that after a review of the content in question, "no violation of our standards" was found.

Shortly after Radio Azattyk's websites in Kyrgyz and Russian were blocked in late October, Kyrgyzstan's State Financial Intelligence (FChK) informed RFE/RL that its bank accounts were frozen in accordance with the law on countering money laundering after "a flag was raised" by security services.

In December, the FChK told RFE/RL that after a special inspection, the media outlet was excluded from the registry of potential money launderers. However, RFE/RL's bank accounts remain frozen.

Dozens of media organizations, domestic and international rights groups, Kyrgyz politicians, and lawmakers have urged the government to unblock Radio Azattyk’s websites.

In early February, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned the Kyrgyz authorities’ move to seek Radio Azattyk’s closure, saying the case poses “a major new obstacle to press freedom,” which it said is “under growing pressure” in Kyrgyzstan.

On 17 February 2023, Pervomaisky District Court of the city of Bishkek in Kyrsgyzstan extended the pre-trial detention of women human rights defenders Gulnara Dzhurabayeva, Klara Sooronkulova, Rita Karasartova and Asya Sasykbayeva. The women human rights defenders will now remain in pre-trial detention until 20 April 2023.

Klara Sooronkulova is a woman human rights defender, chairwoman of the NGO “School of Law” and a chairwoman of the Committee to Protect Political Prisoners. Rita Karasartova is a woman human rights defender and an expert in civic governance. She works for the human rights organization and think tank, Institute of Civic Analysis. Gulnara Dzhurabayeva is a woman human rights defender, who has collaborated with “Interbilim” since 2020, and Asya Sasykbayeva is a founder and ex-head of the human rights organization “Interbilim.” Interbilim is an organization that sets out to promote the creation and effective functioning of democratic institutions, ensuring democratic governance, and transparency of the state system through the mechanisms of public examination and the monitoring of the activities of state bodies.

Klara Sooronkulova is a woman human rights defender, chairwoman of the NGO “School of Law” and a chairwoman of the Committee to Protect Political Prisoners. Rita Karasartova is a woman human rights defender and an expert in civic governance. She works for the human rights organization and think tank, Institute of Civic Analysis. Gulnara Dzhurabayeva is a woman human rights defender, who has collaborated with “Interbilim” since 2020, and Asya Sasykbayeva is a founder and ex-head of the human rights organization “Interbilim.” Interbilim is an organization that sets out to promote the creation and effective functioning of democratic institutions, ensuring democratic governance, and transparency of the state system through the mechanisms of public examination and the monitoring of the activities of state bodies.

Klara Sooronkulova is a woman human rights defender, chairwoman of the NGO “School of Law” and a chairwoman of the Committee to Protect Political Prisoners. The woman human rights defender systematically monitors the trials of political prisoners, as well as working on the issues of freedom of speech, judicial reform, and corruption. She has voiced her opposition to laws on social media censorship.

Rita Karasartova is a woman human rights defender and an expert in civic governance. She works for the Institute of Civic Analysis, a human rights organization and a think tank. The organization works to monitor the selection and rotation process within the Kyrgyzstani judiciary system. The woman human rights defender also supports provides independent legal expertese to the local participatory governments. Rita Karasartova is one of the first women human rights defenders, who started publically covering issues within in the law enforcement and judiciary systems in Kyrgyz language.

On 17 February 2023, Pervomaisky District Court of the city of Bishkek extended the pre-trial detention of women human rights defenders Gulnara Dzhurabayeva, Klara Sooronkulova, Rita Karasartova and Asya Sasykbayeva. The women human rights defenders, all of whom were arrested and placed in pre-trial detention on 24 October 2022, will now remain in detention until 20 April 2023. Earlier, on 18 January 2023, the Head of the Investigative task force working on the criminal case against the members of the Committere to Protect Kempir-Abad, informed the defence attorneys that the case was classified. The Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan didn’t provide any justification to the lawyers and defendents as to why this was the case.

On 10 February 2023, colleagues of woman human rights defender Klara Sooronkulova shared that she is facing additional charges for reposting a Facebook post that was part of the campaign “#kamasanarbaarybyzdykamagyla,” translates: “if you put him in jail, put us all in jail.” The campaign was designed to protest the February 2022 arrest of political activist Mirlan Uraimov. In February 2022 when the woman human rights defender re-posted the aforementioned post, the State Committee for National Security of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan initiated a legal expert review of the post. Despite the fact that the results of the expertise stated there was no basis for criminal charges, Klara Sooronkulova faced persecution for the same Facebook post, charged with conspiring to organize mass riots, a criminal offense envisioned by Article 36-278 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. Her colleagues suggest that these charges are related to the wider persecution of the members of the Committee to Protect Kempir-Abad.

On 10 January 2023, Bishkek law enforcement officers detained 30 peaceful protesters, who called for an immediate release of all the activists, journalists, and human rights defenders from the Committee to Protect Kempir-Abad water reserve. The police pushed the protesters away from the building of the Ministry of interior, where the peaceful demonstration commenced. After the protest moved to the Gorky Square, the police officers continued to harras the protesters, forcing them to hide their posters that called for an immediate release of the members of the Committee to Protect Kempir-Abad. Mostly the protesters were friends and family of those in pre-trial detention; all the protesters were released the same day.

On 21 February 2023, woman human rights defender Klara Sooronkulova was admitted to hospital in Bishkek. She was transferred there from the pre-trial detention center #1 of the city of Bishkek. Reportedly, the woman human rights defender requires surgery. Klara Sooronkulova is being accused of conspiring to organize mass riots, a criminal offense as enumerated by Article 36-278 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan for opposing the transfer of the Kempir-Abad water reserve from Kyrgyzstan to Uzbekistan. Klara Sooronkulova has remained in pre-trial detention since 26 October 2022. On 17 February 2023, her pre-trial detention was extended until 20 April 2023.

In response to news reports that Kyrgyzstan authorities ordered the independent news outlet Kloop to take down a recent article or have its website blocked for two months, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement of condemnation:

“Kyrgyzstan authorities’ attempt to censor Kloop, one of the country’s most respected news outlets, once again shows the absurdity and arbitrariness of its false information law, which should never have been enacted,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, in New York. “Authorities should withdraw their threat to block Kloop’s website, repeal the false information law, and cease their escalating repression of the independent press.”

On January 20, Kloop covered allegations that the state Community Development and Investment Agency, known as ARIS, had inflated its construction costs. On January 25, the outlet reported that ARIS denied the allegations.

In a letter sent along with other documents dated Wednesday, February 1, the Ministry of Culture, Information, Sport, and Youth Policy demanded that Kloop “immediately” remove or amend the January 25 article. ARIS objected to the summary of its denial, that article’s headline, and the mention of a government official who accused the agency of inflating its costs, according to reports by Kloop.

Kloop has refused to take down the article, saying it did not contain false information. If the outlet refuses to comply, its website could be blocked for at least two months under the country’s false information law.

In October 2022, Kyrgyz authorities blocked the websites of Radio Azattyk, the local service of U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and have since applied to shutter the outlet over the same report for which it was blocked.

Reacting to news that the authorities in Kyrgyzstan have applied to a court to close Radio Azattyk, the national service of the US broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said:

“The closure of Radio Azattyk would be a deep and stark attack on the right to freedom of expression in Kyrgyzstan adding to the continuing repression against journalists and other voices critical of the authorities. The international community cannot ignore the threat looming over human rights in Kyrgyzstan and must call on Bishkek to comply with its international human rights obligations in full. The application to close Radio Azattyk should be withdrawn, its website unblocked, and journalists and other media workers in Kyrgyzstan should be able to work without fear of reprisals.”

Background

On 24 January, Radio Azattyk was notified of an application submitted to the Lenin District Court in Bishkek by the Kyrgyzstan Ministry of Culture, Information, Sport and Youth, seeking to terminate Radio Azattyk’s operations. The reason for the lawsuit was reportedly the publication on Radio Azattyk’s social media channels of a video produced by the radio’s sister organization, Current Time TV, which covered the September 2022 border conflict between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The video allegedly violates the law “On the Mass Media,” which forbids “propaganda of war, violence and cruelty, national, religious exclusivity and intolerance to other peoples and nations.”

In October 2022, the material was cited as the reason for blocking Radio Azattyk’s website while its bank accounts were frozen under national money laundering laws. In December, the website ban was declared “indefinite.”

Over the past year, government critics, journalists and other media workers have been repeatedly harassed in Kyrgyzstan. On 23 November, Bolot Temirov, the founder of the investigative project Temirov Live, was stripped of his Kyrgyz citizenship and forcibly deported to Moscow in retaliation for his criticism of the authorities.

Police in Bishkek have dispersed and briefly detained dozens of supporters and relatives of 26 Kyrgyz politicians and activists arrested last year for protesting against a border deal with Uzbekistan.

Police forced the men and women onto buses and took them to police stations while they were holding a rally near Bishkek's Gorky Park on January 10 demanding the release of the jailed politicians and activists.

Several journalists who covered the rally-- including a reporter for RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service -- were detained along with the demonstrators, but released shortly afterwards. Others were released hours later.

Kyrgyz authorities arrested 26 members of the so-called Kempir-Abad Defense Committee in late October after they protested against the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border demarcation deal which saw Kyrgyzstan in November hand over the territory of the Kempir-Abad water reservoir, comprising 4,485 hectares, to Uzbekistan in exchange for over 19,000 hectares elsewhere.

Those arrested were charged with planning riots over the border agreement, which was more than three decades in the making.

Seventeen of those detained have been on a hunger strike for a week.

In November, the presidents of the two Central Asian nations signed the controversial deal into law after lawmakers in both countries approved it.

The Kempir-Abad reservoir, known in Uzbekistan as the Andijon reservoir, was built in 1983. It is located in the fertile Ferghana Valley and represents a vital regional water source. Uzbekistan, whose population of 35 million is five times larger than that of Kyrgyzstan, uses most of the water from the area.

Many Kyrgyz civil activists, opposition politicians, and residents living close to the dam have been against the deal, saying Uzbekistan should continue to be allowed to use the water, but the reservoir's land should remain within Kyrgyzstan.

President Japarov and his allies claim the deal benefits Kyrgyzstan and that Kyrgyz farmers will still have access to the water reservoir.

A Kyrgyz blogger known for his critical reports of authorities has been detained after the Bishkek City Court canceled his three-year parole-like probation.

Adilet Ali Myktybek, known on social media as Alibek Baltabai, was sentenced to five years in prison in November on a charge of calling for social unrest via the internet, allegations he has called politically motivated.

The court ruled at the time that Myktybek would not have to serve his prison sentence immediately, but instead would be under a three-year parole-like probation period. If he served that period without any violations, the court said his five-year prison term would be canceled.

The blogger's lawyer, Taken Moldokulov, told RFE/RL that the Bishkek City Court's decision January 12 to send his client to a penal colony was made at the request of prosecutors who considered Myktybek's sentence too lenient.

Moldokulov added that the court annulled the probation part of the sentence leaving the five-year prison term without changes.

"The Penitentiary Service is expected to inform us where exactly Adilet Baltabai will be serving his term," Moldokulov said, adding that the court decision will be appealed.

Myktybek was detained in late June last year after he was questioned by Bishkek police for a third time since May about his coverage of rallies by civil rights activists.

Following his release in November, Myktybek continued his blogging activities and took part in a rally January 10 to express support for 26 jailed Kyrgyzstan politicians and activists arrested in October for protesting a border deal with Uzbekistan.

Myktybek has been known for actively covering anti-government rallies and pickets in the Central Asian nation.

He is also a freelance correspondent for the Next television channel, whose director, Taalaibek Duishembiev, was handed a suspended three-year prison sentence in September after a court found him guilty of inciting interethnic hatred by airing a controversial report related to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

30 November 2022 Kyrgyzstan: woman human rights defender Aziza Abdirasulova fined On 25 November 2022, the Pervomaisky District Court of the City of Bishkek fined woman human rights defender Aziza Abdirasulova. The Court found woman human rights defender guilty for exhibiting disobedience to the lawful demand of an employee of the internal affairs bodies, a violation envisioned by the Article 128 of the Code of Offenses of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. Aziza Abdirasulova was violently detained while monitoring a peaceful protest in Bishkek on 15 November 2022. The Court ordered that the woman human rights defender must pay the fine of 3,000 SOM. Aziza Abdirasulova appealed this decision and filed a complaint against the law enforcement officer, who violently detained her. Aziza Abdirasulova is a woman human rights defedners from Kyrgyzstan. She is a founder of the Public Foundation “Kylym Shamy.” Its purpose is to support the development of a democratic, legal state through the promotion and protection of human rights and freedoms. As part of its activities, “Kylym Shamy” provides free consultations on legal issues, analyzes, monitors, and conducts research on the decisions of state bodies, participates in the protection of human rights, and the preparation of drafts of normative legal acts in this direction. Its representatives are involved in monitoring detention facilities and providing legal assistance in cases of torture. On 25 November 2022, the Pervomaisky District Court of the City of Bishkek fined Aziza Abdirasulova after finding her guilty for exhibiting disobedience to the lawful demand of an employee of the internal affairs bodies. Aziza Abdirasulova was violently arrested on 15 November 2022, in the city center of Bishkek, while she was monitoring human rights violations during the peaceful protest against the transferring on the Kempir-Abad water reserve. The law enforcement officers, among whom was Tilek Tiukebaiev, Police Colonel and Deputy Head of the Bishkek Police Department, violently pushed her to the ground, and detained her on site. The law enforcement officers claimed that the woman human rights defender was under the influence of alcohol. Moreover, despite the fact that the footage of arrest was available and widely circulated among various media outlets, during the court hearing the law enforcement officers stated that they “behaved politely” towards the woman human rights defender. Aziza Abdirasulova was released from detention on the evening of 15 November 2022. On 14 November 2022, Aziza Abdirasulova was a subject of intimidation by law enforcement officers because of her vocal position and calls for transparency regarding the Kyrgyzstan government’s decision to transfer the Kempir-Abad water reserve to Uzbekistan. Woman human rights defender received a late evening invitation for an informal conversation from the Head of the Police Department #10 of Bishkek, Shumkar Sulaimanov, who threatened her because of her Facebook-based publications about Kempir-Abad water reserve and unjust persecution of human rights defenders and civic activists, who were opposed the transferring of the water reserve to Uzbekistan.

On 23 November 2022, the Bishkek City Court reviewed the appeal filed by the State Prosecutor against the decision to partially acquit human rights defender and journalist Bolot Temirov. The Court of Appeals upheld the decision of the Sverdlovsk District Court of Bishkek declaring that Bolot Temirov is guilty of document fraud and unprecedentedly ruled to deport human rights defender to Russia. Bolot Temirov was violently detained on site in the court room. At around 7:40 PM, Bolot Temirov was noticed in Manas International Airport accompanied by six law enforcement officers heading to the border control section

Bolot Temirov is a Kyrgyzstani human rights defender and prominent journalist, investigating corruption. In January 2020, the human rights defender founded the YouTube-based media outlet “Temirov Live”, that investigates and reports on corruption of state and non-state actors. In 2021, he was recognised by the U.S. State Department as an anti-corruption champion and was awarded the International Anti-Corruption Champions Award for his work to combat corruption in Kyrgyzstan.

On 23 November 2022, the Bishkek City Court reviewed the appeal filed by the State Prosecutor against the decision to partially acquit human rights defender and journalist Bolot Temirov and ruled to deport human rights defender to Russia. The Court ruled the Bolot Temirov is guilty of illegally obtaining his Kyrgystan passport and his military ID, and ruled in favour of human rights defender deportation to Russia, since Bolot Temirov also has Russian citizenship. The judge of the Court of Appeals unprecedentedly added a sanction to the decision of the First Instance Court in the form of deportation, despite the fact that the statue of limitation on this violation has passed.

Previously, the Sverdlovsk District Court of Bishkek found Bolot Temirov guilty of document fraud, but did not set up any punishment as the statute of limitation on the document fraud crime has expired. Bolot Temirov was violently detained in the court room and was raken away by a police vehicle. At the moment, human rights defender’s whereabouts are unknown even to his legal team.

On 22 September 2022, the Sverdlovsk District Court of Bishkek acquitted human rights defender and journalist Bolot Temirov from charges on drug posession and illegal border crossing. The human rights defender was charged with document fraud, however, due to the expiration of the statute of limitation on this crime, Bolot Temirov did not face any penalty. The State Prosecutor accused Bolot Temirov with two counts of documents fraud, one count of illegal border crossing and one count of drug possession and asked for 5 years of prison time.

On 20 January 2022, Bolot Temirov Live published a video investigating the alleged involvement of the family members of State Committee for National Security Head, Kamchybek Tashiev, in a corruption scheme relating to a state-owned petroleum refinery. On 22 January 2022, nine masked police officers raided for three hours the office of the YouTube-based outlet, Temirov Live, in Bishkek, without a warrant. During the raid, police officers confiscated all computers and forced male staff members to stay on the ground. According to Bolot Temirov, the officers planted a bag of drugs in his back pocket while pinning him down. Bolot Temirov was arrested without being given any reasons, and his lawyer was unable to meet him for several hours. While the human rights defender was detained, he underwent questioning and a urine test that resulted negative for drugs. According to Bolot Temirov, his arrest was in retaliation for an investigation where he denounced state corruption, which he published on Terminov Live in January 2022. The State Committee for National Security (CNS) officers confiscated Temirov Live’s security camera footage, showing the raid, including the planting of the drugs on the human rights defender.

In April 2022, Temirov Live published another investigation concerning Kamchybek Tashiev and their involvement in the corruption schemes with state tenders. On 17 May 2022, Bolot Temirov was stripped of his Kyrgyzstan citizenship by the Ministry of the Interior. Bolot Temirov’s passport was listed on the database of the National Registration Agency of the Kyrgyztan Republic Government as invalid, without any official court decision. The state launched new criminal cases against human rights defender concerining alledged document fraud and illegal border crossing.

Front Line Defenders is deeply concerned with the unprecedented decision of deport human rights defender and journalist Bolot Temirov to Russia. Front Line Defenders sees this judicial harrassment as a retaliation for Bolot Temirov’s human rights work as investigative journalist and as a part of the newly emerging pattern of targetting human rights defenders and journalists for their non-violent human rights work. Such targeting undermines access to free and independent press and limit the freedom of speech and expression in Kyrgyzstan. Front Line Defenders call upon the Kyrgyzstan authorities to fully acquit human rights defender Bolot Temirov.

On 11 October 2022, human rights defender Kamil Ruziev’s acquittal was overruled by the Issyk-Kul Regional Court. The Court had found Kamil Ruziev guilty and fined him with 80,000 soms (916.02 Euros). The human rights defender reported that journalists covering the trial were forbidden to take photos and video recordings were prohibited both at the trial and at the halls of the Court. The human rights defender has appealed the overruling of the acquittal to the Supreme Court and he is now waiting for the date of the trial.

On 12 August 2022, human rights defender Kamil Ruziev was acquitted by the Karakol City Court, in Karakol. The human rights defender was previously wrongly accused of forging documents under Article 359, Part 2, of the Criminal Code by the State Committee for National Security (GKNB). The human rights defender stated that the Court’s decision was based on a lack of sufficient evidence. The acquittal was appealed by the prosecutor and the case was submitted to the regional court.

On 29 May 2020, human rights defender Kamil Ruziev was detained outside of a courthouse in Karakol, Kyrgyzstan. He was then interrogated and spent two days in detention, before being placed under two months’ house arrest on 31 May 2020 under charges of forgery.

Kyrgyz investigative journalist Bolot Temirov, who was shortlisted for the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Awards 2022 last week, says he will be unable to travel to Paris in December if he is chosen as a winner. Temirov told RFE/RL on November 13 that his passport was canceled by investigators. Although Temirov was acquitted in September of drug charges that he called politically motivated, persecutors appealed his acquittal. Temirov was arrested in January for allegedly possessing illegal drugs, which he says were planted by police.

The Bishkek City Court has rejected appeals by several politicians and activists against their two-month pretrial detention on charges of planning mass disorder over the government’s border demarcation agreement with neighboring Uzbekistan.

More than 20 men and women were detained in late October after they protested against the deal, according to which Kyrgyzstan will hand over the territory of the Kempir-Abad water reservoir covering 4,485 hectares to Uzbekistan in exchange for over 19,000 hectares elsewhere.

Those detained include the former Kyrgyz ambassador to Malaysia, Azimbek Beknazarov, former lawmaker Asia Sasykbaeva, well-known politicians Kanat Isaev, Jenis Moldokmatov, and Ravshan Jeenbekov, human rights defender Rita Karasartova, and other noted public figures and activists.

On November 9, the court upheld the pretrial detentions of former Central Election Commission member Gulnara Jurabaeva, politician Perizat Suranova, former regional Governor Aibek Buzurmankulov, the former chief of the State Committee of National Security, Kengeshbek Duishobaev, and activists Taalai Mademinov, Atai Beishebek, and Ali Shabdan, who originally had been remanded in pretrial detention until at least December 20.

Appeals filed by other detained politicians and activists will be considered by the court in the coming days.

In a statement on October 25, Human Rights Watch urged the government of the Central Asian nation to immediately release the politicians and activists, and to publish all of the details of the deal on the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border demarcation.

The Kempir-Abad reservoir, which was built in 1983, is located in the fertile Ferghana Valley and represents a vital regional water source. Uzbekistan, whose population of 35 million is five times larger than that of Kyrgyzstan, uses the majority of the water.

The two Central Asian countries share a border that is more than 1,300-kilometers long.

Many Kyrgyz civil activists, opposition politicians, and residents living close to the dam are against the deal.

They say Uzbekistan could continue using the dam's water, but the reservoir's land should remain within Kyrgyzstan's border.

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and his allies claim the deal benefits Kyrgyzstan and that Kyrgyz farmers will still have access to the water.

Last week, Uzbek Foreign Minister Vladimir Norov and his Kyrgyz counterpart, Jeenbek Kulubaev, signed a number of documents on border delimitation in Bishkek, including the agreement on jointly managing the Kempir-Abad water reservoir.

On 11 November 2022, Bishkek City Court rejected the appeal to change the interim measure from detention to house arrest for woman human rights defenders Klara Sooronkulova and Asya Sasykbayeva. The same occurred on 10 November 2022 for woman human rights defender Rita Karasartova, and on 9 November 2022 for woman human rights defender Gulnara Dzhurabayeva. Klara Sooronkulova is a woman human rights defenders, chairwoman of the NGO “School of Law” and a chairwoman of the Committee to Protect Political Prisoners. WHRD carries out out systematic monitoring of trials of political prisoners, work on the issues of freedom of speech, judicial reforms, and corruption. She vocally opposed laws on social media censorship and the Russia copy-cat foreign agents law. Rita Karasartova is a woman human rights defender and an expert in civic governance. She works for the Institute of Civic Analysis, a human rights organization and a think tank. The organization works to monitor the selection and rotation process within the Kyrgyzstani judiciary system. The woman human rights defender also supports provides independent legal expertese to the local participatory governments. Rita Karasartova is one of the first women human rights defenders, who started publically covering issues within in the law enforcement and judiciary systems in Kyrgyz language. Gulnara Jurabayeva is a woman human rights defender, who collaborated with “Interbilim” since 2020, and Asya Sasykbayeva is a founder and ex-head of human rights organization “Interbilim.” Interbilim is an organization that is set out to promote the creation and effective functioning of democratic institutions, ensuring democratic governance, and transparency of the state system through the mechanisms of public examination and monitoring of the activities of state bodies. The women human rights defenders appealed the decision of the Pervomayskii District Court of the City of Bishkek on 25 October 2022 to detain them for 2 months for their peaceful protest against the transferring the ownership of the Kempir-Abad water reserve from Kyrgyzstan to Uzbekistan. Klara Sooronkulova, Asya Sasykbayeva, Rita Karasartova, and Gulnara Dzhurabayeva will remain in detention until 20 December 2022. The women human rights defenders are being accused of conspiring to organize mass riots, a criminal offense envisioned by Article 36-278 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. If charged, the women human rights defenders can face up to 10 years of prison time. The Court refused to take into account that two women human rights defenders have young children and two women human rights defenders are over 60 years old. Some of their colleagues, who are detained in Temporary Isolation Ward #1 of the City of Bishkek, report that the detention conditions are very poor and the incarceration units lack proper heating. On 24 October 2022, Kyrgyzstani law enforcement officers arbitrary arrested and detained women human rights defenders Gulnara Dzhurabayeva, Klara Sooronkulova, Rita Karasartova, and Asya Sasykbayeva for their peaceful protest against the tranferring the ownership of the Kempir-Abad water reserve from Kyrgyzstan to Uzbekistan. They were among 24 other activists and representatives of political parties, who peacefully opposed the transferring of the Kempir-Abad water reserve to Uzbekistan, stating that Kempir-Abad is an important source of pottable water for the local comunities, and that the transfering of the reservoir to Uzbekistan will affect local farmers who will be forcefully displaced in Uzbekistan. On 22 October 2022, human rights defenders, local activists, journalists, and political actors established a Committee to protect the Kempir-Abad in opposing the transfering of the water reservoir from Kyrgyzstan to Uzbekistan. The Committee was set up as a result of public convening of local communities dwelling the premises of the Kempir-Abad on 15 October 2022, where representatives of the local communities called upon the Kyrgyztani government to stop the transferring of the water reservoir and the exchange of territories between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. On 21 October 2022, in Uzgen District of the Osh region, representatives of the local communities affected by the transferring of the Kempir-Abad reserve from villages of Kurshab and Kyzyl-Oktyabr held a peaceful march. On 23 October 2022, premises of homes of representatives of the Committee to Protect Kempir- Abad in Bishkek and Osh were raided by various Ministry of Interior authorities, and personal equipment was ceised during the raids. On 24 October 2022, twenty-four representatives of the Committee, including women human rights defenders Gulnara Dzhurabayeva, Klara Sooronkulova, Rita Karasartova, and Asya Sasykbayeva, were arbirtary detained and on 25 October 2022, sentenced to 2 months of pre-trial detention.

Bishkek police detained Kyrgyz journalist Semetei Talas Uulu on November 1 on the charge of preparing and disseminating extremist materials. The journalist's lawyer, Askat Jakupbekov, told RFE/RL that his client's pretrial restrictions will be decided in 48 hours. The 41-year-old investigative journalist's detainment comes days after he covered on social networks a mass rally held on October 23 protesting the nation's deal on handing of the Kempir-Abad water reservoir to Uzbekistan in exchange for larger lands. Twenty-six politicians and activists have been detained since then.

A Bishkek court placed Kyrgyz journalist Semetei Talas-uulu under house arrest on November 3, two days after he was detained on a charge of preparing and disseminating extremist materials. Talas-uulu, who insists he is innocent, told journalists that the charge against him stems from a post he shared last year from a website close to the Hizb ut-Tahrir Islamic group, which is banned in Kyrgyzstan. The 41-year-old investigative journalist’s detainment came days after he covered a mass rally on October 23 protesting the nation's handing of a Kyrgyz-Uzbek border deal.

Kyrgyz authorities should fully and swiftly investigate a recent attack on journalist Baktursun Jorobekov and hold the perpetrators to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday.

On the evening of Wednesday, October 26, four unidentified men severely beat Jorobekov, a correspondent with the independent broadcaster Super TV, near his home in the capital Bishkek and stole his phone and wallet, according to news reports and Super TV editor-in-chief Elvira Karaeva, who spoke to CPJ by messaging app.

The attackers filmed the beating and forced Jorobekov to apologize to a man who was the subject of one of his reports before repeatedly kicking him in the head, Karaeva said. She said that Super TV is not disclosing the content of the report or the name of the subject at the request of the police who asked the broadcaster not to publicize the information while officers conduct an investigation. Karaeva said Jorobekov had previously received threats that he believed were related to the same report, but did not go into further detail.

The journalist lay unconscious in the street for almost five hours after the attack before regaining consciousness and returning home. As of Wednesday, he remains in a hospital undergoing treatment for a concussion and severe bruising to his head, she said.

“The brutal beating of journalist Baktursun Jorobekov cannot go unpunished,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, in New York. “Kyrgyz authorities must demonstrate their dedication to upholding journalists’ safety by swiftly and transparently investigating the attack on Jorobekov and holding all involved to account, including those who may have ordered the attack.”

Jorobekov told CPJ by messaging app that unidentified individuals had called him multiple times and threatened to kill him earlier this year, but was unable to respond to further questions due to his medical condition. Karaeva told CPJ that Jorobekov had stopped taking calls from the number from which the threats were issued, but the same number had repeatedly called Super TV’s editorial offices, including on the day of the attack, asking for Jorobekov.

In an interview with his employer, Jorobekov said he left home around 11:30 p.m. to go to a nearby pharmacy and was approached by four men who asked him for a cigarette. When he said he didn’t smoke, two of the men grabbed him, hit him, and took his phone and wallet.

One of the men looked through his wallet, took 3,500 som (US$42), and found a press card, saying, “Oh, you’re a journalist working at Super TV.” The same man then said, “Let’s kill him,” and three of the men repeatedly kicked the journalist in the head while the fourth filmed Jorobekov’s forced apology.

Jorobekov filed a complaint with police the following day, according to that interview; police have opened a case for theft, Karaeva told CPJ, and are awaiting medical results before opening a case for infliction of bodily harm.

Super TV broadcasts news and entertainment and is one of Kyrgyzstan’s most popular television channels, with 1.3 million subscribers on YouTube, the outlet’s director, Baktygul Sokushova told CPJ by telephone. Jorobekov covers social problems and court disputes, Sokushova said; she said that Super TV receives threats in relation to its coverage of these topics.

CPJ emailed the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kyrgyzstan for comment, but did not immediately receive a reply. CPJ called the police station where Jorobekov filed his complaint but no one with knowledge of the case was able to immediately reply.

An analysis by independent outlet Kloop found that perpetrators of physical attacks against members of the press in Kyrgyzstan were caught in only a quarter of cases between January 2015 and July 2021.

Kyrgyz authorities should immediately restore access to the bank account and website of Radio Azattyk, U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s local service, and cease all attempts to obstruct the outlet’s work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday.

On Monday, October 31, staff at the local offices of Turkey-based DemirBank informed Radio Azattyk that they had frozen the outlet’s account under orders of Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security (SCNS), news reports said.

Kyrgyz authorities have yet to provide any confirmation or explanation for the freeze, those reports said. However, DemirBank stated in a Facebook post and letter to Radio Azattyk on Thursday, November 3, that the account has been suspended under Article 14 of Kyrgyzstan’s law “On countering the financing of terrorist activities and the legalization (laundering) of criminal proceeds,” which allows the suspension of accounts deemed to be involved in money laundering.

The move comes after Kyrgyzstan’s ministry of culture last week ordered Radio Azattyk’s website blocked for two months under false information legislation, a decision CPJ criticized as censorship. A November 3 statement by RFE/RL described these actions as part of a series of “punitive steps” against its Kyrgyz service by authorities. Jamie Fly, RFE/RL president and CEO, called the move to freeze Radio Azattyk’s bank account an “escalation” and vowed to fight “this attempt to silence our journalists.”

“After blocking Radio Azattyk’s website, freezing the outlet’s bank account is another outrageous and apparently unlawful step taken by Kyrgyz authorities to pressure one of the country’s most important news sources. These and all other efforts to obstruct the work of Radio Azattyk must end immediately,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, in New York. “Kyrgyz authorities must stop treating the independent press like an enemy and allow Radio Azattyk and other independent outlets to work without harassment and impediment.”

Under Article 14 of the money laundering law, banks are required to block the accounts of any entities in a register where there is information of involvement in money laundering. The register is maintained by the country’s State Financial Intelligence Service (SFIS), which is under the Ministry of Finance and decides on additions to the register based on information received from government ministries and other sources, according to a government decree setting out the law’s operation.

This register is not currently available on SFIS’ website, in violation of that decree, and CPJ was unable to determine whether Radio Azattyk has been placed on it. DemirBank did not provide further information about why the account was frozen.

CPJ emailed RFE/RL for comment, but the broadcaster referred to its existing statements. CPJ’s emailed requests for further information to DemirBank, SFIS, and SCNS were not answered.

In a phone interview, Akmat Alagushev, media representative for local advocacy group Media Policy Institute, called the freeze “ridiculous,” saying it was equivalent to accusing the U.S. government, which funds Radio Azattyk, of money laundering. Alagushev said there was no point seeking a legal rationale behind the decision, as Kyrgyz authorities are simply “pursuing all possible methods to prevent Azattyk from working.”

The freeze can be appealed in the courts, but Alagushev said he expects SFIS to reverse the decision in the coming days as it has no legal basis.

CPJ emailed the ministry of culture for comment but did not immediately receive a reply.

More than 20 people in Kyrgyzstan were detained on Sunday, October 23, and placed under arrest for 48 hours, after publicly disagreeing with the impending transfer of an important dam to Uzbekistan as part of a border demarcation deal with the neighboring country. Those detained included activists, human rights defenders, bloggers, and politicians.

The next day, courts ordered several of the detainees be held in pre-trial detention for two months while the investigation continues. All of the detainees were charged with preparation for and organization of mass unrest. The police also initiated an investigation over “evidence obtained from a special investigation,” which transpired to be a series of edited and excerpted wiretapped conversations between some of the detainees. The wiretapped montage was leaked to social media and had apparently been constructed to seem like some detainees called for a government overthrow because of the contentious border agreement.

According to a statement by Kyrgyzstan’s Ombudsman, before their arrests, authorities conducted warrantless searches of the activists’ houses and seized personal property. In most cases, including with human rights defender Rita Karasartova, police forced entry into their homes and attempted to prevent video documentation of the arrests. The activists were transferred to detention centers and some were not allowed access to their lawyers.

Twelve of the 23 detainees are members of a newly created group created to protect the Kempir-Abad water reservoir in south-west Kyrgyzstan. The group opposes Kyrgyzstan's plan, which includes transferring territory and the dam itself to Uzbekistan. The Kyrgyz government maintains the agreement benefits Kyrgyzstan and both countries will manage the reservoir and have access to its water.

The reservoir plan was signed on September 26 as part of an agreement that seeks to determine official borders for the 15 per cent of non-demarcated territory between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Protests in Uzgen, where the reservoir is located, began after residents worried about losing water access.

The agreement’s full text is still secret.

Protests demanding authorities release the activists and share information about the agreement took place on October 24 in Bishkek and Osh, Kyrgyzstan. Ahead of the protests Internet connectivity was severely limited, especially in Bishkek. Internet providers stated an accident on the channels of the upstream provider caused the failures.

Kyrgyz authorities should release the detainees and ensure that their rights, including due process rights, are strictly observed in any investigations going forward.

In Kyrgyzstan, the authorities have increased efforts to control and censor mass media amid their recent crackdown on freedom of expression and civil society, Human Rights Watch said today.

On October 26, 2022, the Kyrgyz government ordered a two-month blockage of the websites of Azattyk Media, the Kyrgyz service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, because of a video covering the recent border conflict between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The order was based on the Law on Protection from False Information, which drew significant criticism when adopted in August 2021. The authorities claim the video used hate speech and false information that Kyrgyzstan had attacked Tajikistan, which the radio service’s Tajikistan-based correspondent referred to during a video segment featuring correspondents in both Bishkek and Dushanbe, the countries’ capitals.

“It is standard journalistic practice to provide information from both sides of the conflict,” said Syinat Sultanalieva, Central Asia Researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The blockage of Azattyk Media is a blatant attempt to control and censor independent journalism in Kyrgyzstan in violation of the country’s international human rights obligations, particularly with respect to freedoms of expression and of the media.”

The blockage of Azattyk’s websites followed a protest outside Azattyk’s office on October 13, saying it should be closed down, and an initiative by a member of the Kyrgyz Parliament, Nadira Narmatova, for people to sign a petition calling for closure of Azattyk Media and two other media – Kloop, and Kaktus.Media. On October 14, an open letter signed by 70 public figures called for closing these organizations, contending that they were foreign-funded entities working against the national interests of the country. At least seven people included in the list of public figures publicly denied signing the letter.

The Kyrgyz Ministry of Culture and Information, which is responsible for enforcing the Protection from False Information Law, had previously blocked websites of the ResPublica newspaper for two months, starting in June, and attempted to block the website of the 24.kg information agency in August over an anonymous complaint of false information. The website was subsequently unblocked.

On September 28, the Kyrgyz president’s administration submitted draft amendments to the Law on Mass Media, which would include penalties for “abuse of freedom of speech” (Article 4) for public consideration. The last day to submit comments on the draft amendments is October 28, after which the amendments will be submitted to parliament for consideration.

On October 27, dozens of representatives of Kyrgyzstan’s media community published an open appeal to the Kyrgyz government to immediately cease all pressure on freedom of speech and freedom of media and to withdraw the Protection from False Information Law.

Analysis by several mediagroups found that actions that constitute “abuse of freedom of speech” in the proposed amendments would include sending “subliminal messaging” to viewers, mentioning any organization that was legally liquidated or whose activities were prohibited in Kyrgyzstan, and distributing any information prohibited by law.

The draft law also would increase registration requirements for foreign-based and funded mass media organizations, including identifying their main thematic interests to be covered and their sources of funding. It would also require other media, including internet publications, to register.

Media experts have pointed out that the text of the draft amendments is very similar to passages of the Russian Law on Mass Media and have expressed concern that the law would be used to eliminate media outlets critical of the government.

“Kyrgyzstan should stand up for, not undermine, independent media,” Sultanalieva said. “Authorities should immediately cease their attempts at controlling this fundamental human right by withdrawing the proposed amendments and uphold its commitment to respect all freedoms and human rights in the country.”

RFE/RL President Jamie Fly has demanded an investigation into threats made against RFE/RL journalists during a demonstration on October 13 in Bishkek at the office of RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service.

Ilimbek Israilov, organizer of the demonstration, called for the closure of RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, also known as Radio Azattyk, Kloop, and another media outlet associated with it and said he would collect signatures from people who back its closure.

During the protest Israilov threatened to spray gasoline on RFE/RL reporters and use force against them.

"If I see you at the rallies, I will break one of you," Israilov said.

Most of the participants of the action covered their faces, avoided the camera, and refused to answer questions about their demands.

Fly responded by saying Radio Azattyk journalists will not be intimidated.

"I call on Kyrgyz authorities to investigate those responsible for these threats of violence against our staff and office," he said in a statement.

Israilov is known for his involvement in the organization of numerous rallies to support the former deputy chief of the Customs Service, Raimbek Matraimov.

In 2019, an investigation by RFE/RL, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, and Kloop implicated former deputy chief of the Customs Service Raimbek Matraimov in a corruption scheme involving the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars out of Kyrgyzstan.

Matraimov and his relatives at the time were at the center of an alleged corruption scandal. Matraimov was rearrested in February 2021 on corruption charges.

He was later released after a court in Bishkek convicted him on the charges but handed him a mitigated sentence that didn't involve incarceration because he had paid back around $24 million that disappeared through corruption schemes that he oversaw.

On Wednesday, a court in Kyrgyzstan convicted Next TV director Taalaibek Duishenbiev of inciting interethnic hatred over posts on the broadcaster’s social media accounts covering Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to news reports.

Duishenbiev, who was detained for seven months pending trial, was originally handed a five-year prison sentence, his lawyer, Nurbek Sydykov, told CPJ in a phone call. But a judge allowed him to leave detention and commuted his sentence to a three-year probationary period during which the journalist must report to authorities twice a month and refrain from leaving the capital of Bishkek, Sydykov said.

“We strongly condemn this unjust sentence against Next TV director Taalaibek Duishenbiev. Republishing newsworthy statements by well-known public figures is part of the job of a news outlet, and the absurdity of charging Duishenbiev with incitement for this makes it clear that authorities aim to disrupt the broadcaster’s coverage,” said CPJ’s program director Carlos Martínez de la Serna. “Kyrgyz authorities should immediately overturn Duishenbiev’s conviction, withdraw the onerous probation demands placed upon him, and stop prosecuting journalists on contrived charges.”

On March 3, 2022, officers from Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security raided Next TV’s offices and arrested Duishenbiev, who was later charged by a court with inciting interethnic hatred. The charges stemmed from the outlet’s social media posts covering claims by a former head of Kazakhstan’s intelligence agency that Kyrgyzstan had secretly agreed to provide military support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In June, prosecutors added an additional count of inciting interethnic hatred against Duishenbiev over another Next TV social media post citing claims Uzbek human rights activist Valentina Chupik made to Kyrgyz broadcaster Aprel that Russian authorities were pressuring former Kyrgyz citizens to enlist in the Russian military, according to reports and Ravshan Jeyenbekov, the opposition politician who owns Next TV, who spoke to CPJ in a telephone interview.

The court convicted Duishenbiev of incitement “by a group of individuals,” but prosecutors charged only Duishenbiev over the posts while maintaining a separate investigation into “unidentified individuals,” Sydykov told CPJ. Jeyenbekov called the vagueness of the investigation, and the sentencing, an attempt to keep Next TV “on a short leash.”

Sydykov said that the journalist has not yet decided whether to appeal the court’s decision.

CPJ emailed the Office of the Prosecutor General of Kyrgyzstan for comment but did not immediately receive any reply.

The prosecutor at a high-profile trial in Bishkek has asked the court to convict and sentence noted Kyrgyz investigative journalist Bolot Temirov to five years in prison on several charges that he and his supporters say are politically motivated.

The prosecutor asked the Sverdlov district court in the Kyrgyz capital on September 21 to find Temirov guilty and sentence him.

Temirov, whose trial started in June, reiterated his innocence.

Temirov and traditional bardic singer Bolot Nazarov, who performed anti-corruption songs on the YouTube channel Temirov LIVE, were arrested in January for allegedly possessing illegal drugs, which the two men say were planted by police.

In April, Bishkek city police filed additional charges against Temirov, accusing him of forgery and illegally crossing the border with Russia.

It said Temirov, who was born and raised in Russia and holds a Russian passport, used forged documents to obtain a Kyrgyz passport in 2008, which he then used to illegally exit and enter Kyrgyzstan.

Temirov has rejected all of the charges, saying they were brought against him after he published the results of his investigation suggesting corruption among top officials of the Central Asian nation.

Kyrgyz authorities have denied that probes against Temirov are politically motivated.

Temirov was among 12 people recognized by the U.S. State Department last year as anti-corruption champions.

On 22 September 2022, Sverdlovsk District Court of Bishkek acquitted human rights defender and journalist Bolot Temirov from charges on drug posession and illegal border crossing. The human rights defender was charged with document fraud, however, due to the expiration of the statute of limitation on this crime, Bolot Temirov will not face any penalty. The state prosecutor accused Bolot Temirov with two counts of documents fraud, one count of illegal border crossing and one count of drug posession and asked for 5 years of prison time. During the hearing, Kyrgyzstani journalists and human rights defenders held a protest near the premises of the Sverdlovsk District Couts of Bishkek, chanting “Freedom to Bolot Temirov.” Bolot Temirov stated that he will appeal the decision.

A Kyrgyz blogger has been detained on a charge of making public calls for mass disorder and violence after he posted online materials questioning the legality of the government's plans to develop iron-ore mining in the Central Asian nation's Jetim-Too mountain region.

The Interior Ministry said on August 15 that 19-year-old Yryskeldi Jekshenaliev was detained a day earlier after investigators questioned him regarding his post on a Facebook account called Polit Uznik (Political Prisoner).

The ministry did not specify which post sparked the teen's detention, saying only that "recently, many disputes appear regarding the development of iron-ore mines at Jetim-Too," adding that the Polit Uznik account in Facebook distributes "controversial, false information."

Polit Uznik posted a handwritten statement from Jekshenaliev while in custody in which he calls the case again him "100 percent politically motivated."

Polit Uznik also said the post in question was an old video in which a former security chief raises environmental issues when talking about the government’s

On August 14, President Sadyr Japarov condemned unspecified "defenders" of the environment in the region, calling them "false patriots and liars."

Japarov, who initiated the project to develop iron-ore mining in Jetim-Too, called on law enforcement "to work" with such persons. He did not elaborate.

Kyrgyzstan authorities should immediately restore access to independent news website Res Publica and repeal a recently enacted false information law that severely threatens press freedom, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday.

On July 21, Res Publica editor-in-chief Zamira Sydykova announced on the outlet’s website and on her Facebook page that Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Culture, Information, Sport and Youth Policy ordered internet service providers to block access to its website after the outlet failed to comply with the ministry’s earlier demand to remove two investigative articles. The block is to last two months, but can be renewed if the outlet fails to remove the articles, according to Akmat Alagushev, media representative for local advocacy group Media Policy Institute, which is advising the owner of the domain name for Res Publica’s website, Yaroslav Tartykov, on the case and who spoke to CPJ by telephone.

This is the first useof the controversial law “On Protection from Inaccurate (False) Information” against a media outlet, according to Alagushev and news reports. The law was passed in July 2021 and the following month was signed by President Sadyr Japarov.

Res Publica intends to challenge the block in the courts, Sydykova told CPJ by phone.

“Kyrgyzstan’s false information law grants censorship powers to government agencies and effectively institutes a presumption of guilt against journalists. It should never have been signed into law in the first place,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna, in Madrid. “Kyrgyz authorities should immediately lift the block on Res Publica and discard the false information law, which is all too susceptible to abuse by officeholders and influential businesspeople.”

Under the law, individuals and legal entities can demand that online publishers remove allegedly false information and publish a correction within 24 hours; if the content is not removed, the plaintiff can apply to the Ministry of Culture for the content to be removed within a set timeframe and, if the material is again not removed, order a block of the relevant website or webpage for up to two months without a court decision, according to an April 2022 Cabinet of Ministers’ decree establishing the procedure for the law.

The Ministry of Culture ordered access to Res Publica’s website to be blocked after Asan Toktosunov, former head of a state-owned airport services company, filed a content removal request under the false information law in connection with two investigations the outlet published in 2019 that accused him of corruption, according to Sydykova and copies of the ministry’s decision reviewed by CPJ.

Tartykov told CPJ by messaging app that on July 15 a Ministry of Culture representative sent him by messaging app a letter dated June 15 ordering Res Publica to delete the two articles within three days, but by July 17, the website had already become inaccessible in Kyrgyzstan. Tartykov said the ministry claimed it had previously sent the letter to an email address used by Res Publica, but Sydykova denied the outlet had received any letter at this address.

In March 2022, Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Court upheld lower court decisions ordering Res Publica to publish corrections on passages referring to Toktosunov in the two articles in question, according to copies of the rulings reviewed by CPJ. Sydykova told CPJ that she considers the court decisions unfounded and that she stands by the outlet’s reporting.

In 2021, shareholders removed Toktosunov from his post and Kyrgyz authorities convicted him of corruption following Res Publica’s investigations, Sydykova said.

Toktosunov confirmed this conviction to CPJ but said that the allegations for which he was convicted were not those reported on by Res Publica in its investigations. He said that he had resorted to the law on false information after his previous efforts to obtain enforcement of court decisions to publish corrections had not been successful.

Sydykova added that the Ministry of Culture did not cite the court cases when issuing the block, and that the proceeding under the law on false information was entirely separate.

Alagushev told CPJ that the case shows the “absurdity and arbitrariness” of Kyrgyzstan’s false information law. While the law’s procedure requires plaintiffs to send the ministry “substantiated demands,” it does not specify any criteria for the ministry to use when ordering removals, nor require the ministry to justify its decisions.

A ministry representative told local outlet Aprel that it is “not the job” of the ministry to rule on the veracity of disputed content but merely to act on the plaintiff’s complaint if website owners refuse the plaintiff’s request for removal.

Authorities can continue to renew the block as long as Res Publica refuses to remove the disputed material, Alagushev told CPJ. Website owners can appeal the Ministry of Culture’s decisions in the courts, he said, but such a process will likely take several months to complete, during which time the website may remain blocked.

Analyses of the law by Media Policy Institute and local legal NGO Adilet have argued that it will be used to silence corruption reporting, while the lack of transparency over decision-making itself entails a high risk of corruption and abuse of power.

CPJ emailed the Ministry of Culture for comment but did not receive a reply.

Established in 1992, Res Publica is Kyrgyzstan’s oldest independent news outlet, Sydykova said. Sydykova, a former Kyrgyz ambassador to the U.S., previously served three months in prison and was twice banned from journalism for extended periods on criminal libel charges, according to reports and Sydykova.

A Kyrgyz blogger known for his critical reports of authorities has been detained for 48 hours before a pretrial hearing to decide on whether to place him in detention or under house arrest.

Adilet Ali Myktybek, known on social media as Alibek Baltabai, faces charges of calling for social unrest on the Internet, allegations he says are politically motivated.

Myktybek was detained late on June 30 after he was questioned by Bishkek police for a third time since late May, the Birinchi Mai district court said.

Opposition politician Ravshan Jeenbekov told RFE/RL that Myktybek's supporters are currently looking for a lawyer to defend the noted blogger.

After questioning earlier by police, Myktybek said that the case against him is the authorities’ retaliation for his numerous reports on Facebook criticizing them.

"This is, I am confident, pressure being put on me for my opposition stance and my criticism of the authorities. What they are using against me is my own reports, in which I expressed my social and political stance, my activism," Myktybek said.

Myktybek is also known for actively covering anti-government rallies and pickets in the Central Asian nation.

He is also a freelance correspondent of the Next television channel, whose director, Taalai Duishembiev, is currently in pretrial detention over the airing of a controversial report in which an interviewee alleged the existence of an agreement between Bishkek and Moscow to send troops to assist Russian armed forces in the ongoing war against Ukraine.

Domestic and international human rights groups have urged Kyrgyz authorities to release Duishembiev, who was arrested on March 24.

On 17 May 2022, human rights defender Bolot Temirov was stripped of his Kyrgyzstan citizenship. The human rights defender’s passport was listed in the database of the National Registration Agency of the Kyrgyzstan Republic Government as invalid, without an official court decision. Additionally, on 18 May 2022, the Sverdlovsk District Court in the Bishkek City Court initiated preliminary proceedings against the human rights defender. Bolot Temirov is a Kyrgyzstani human rights defender and prominent journalist, investigating corruption. In January 2020, the human rights defender founded the YouTube-based media outlet “Temirov Live”, that investigates and reports on corruption of state and non-state actors. In 2021, he was recognised by the U.S. State Department as an anti-corruption champion and was awarded the International Anti-Corruption Champions Award for his work to combat corruption in Kyrgyzstan. If convicted, Bolot Temirov could face between 10 to 15 years in prison. On 17 May 2022, human rights defender Bolot Temirov was stripped of his Kyrgyzstan citizenship by the Ministry of the Interior. Bolot Temirov’s passport was listed on the database of the National Registration Agency of the Kyrgyztan Republic Government as invalid, without an official court decision. On 18 May 2022, the Sverdlovsky District Court in the Bishkek City Court initiated preliminary proceedings against human rights defender Bolot Temirov. This included criminal charges of forgery of documents, illegal crossing of state borders and drug-related crime. The Court rejected the motion to exclude inadmissible evidence that was collected during a search of Temirov Live’s office on 22 January 2022 in relation to the drug-related charge. During the search, nine Counter Narcotics Service (CNS) officers burst into the office while filming. However, there is 1 minute missing from the video as the officer who was videoing could not keep up with the search. The prosecutors obtained this footage in violation of the Criminal Procedure Code, however the request from the human rights defender’s legal counsel to exclude this inadmissible evidence was refused. Bolot Temirov’s legal council filled and appeal which will be held on 6 June 2022. . The video shows the human rights defender taking the drugs that were planted on him out of his pockets, upon the request of the CNS officers. On 17 May 2022, Bolot Temirov was stripped of his Kyrgyzstan citizenship by the Ministry of the Interior. Bolot Temirov’s passport was listed on the database of the National Registration Agency of the Kyrgyztan Republic Government as invalid, without an official court decision. On 19 April 2022, police investigators in Bishkek charged Bolot Temirov with allegedly-forging documents as per Article 379 and illegal border crossing as per Article 378 of the Kyrgyzstan Criminal Code. The police claim that the human rights defender holds a Russian passport, and that he used forged documents to obtain a Kyrgyz passport and illegally exited and entered Kyrgyzstan more than 50 times in 2008. On 20 January 2022, Temirov Live published a video investigating the alleged involvement of the family members of State Committee for National Security Head, Kamchybek Tashiev, in a corruption scheme relating to a state-owned petroleum refinery. On 22 January 2022, nine masked police officers raided the office of the YouTube-based outlet, Temirov Live, in Bishkek without a warrant and searched it for approximately three hours. During the raid, police officers confiscated all computers and forced male staff members to the ground. According to Bolot Temirov, officers planted a bag of drugs in his back pocket while pinning him down during the raid. Bolot Temirov was arrested without knowledge of why, and his lawyer was unable to meet his client for several hours. While the human rights defender was detained, the police officers questioned him, and he underwent a urine test which tested negative for drugs. According to Bolot Temirov, his arrest was in retaliation for an investigation denouncing state corruption published by Temirov Live in January 2022. The CNS officers confiscated Temirov Live’s security camera footage, showing the order of events during the search, including the planting of the drugs on the human rights defenders. On 23 January 2022, Bolot Temirov appeared before the Bishkek District Court. The human rights defender was charged with “illegal making, acquisition, storage, transportation, or sending of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances without the purpose of sale” as per Part 1 of Article 254 of the Kyrgyzstan Criminal Code. The Bishkek District Court found that the human rights defender’s detention was unlawful and ordered his release from custody. However, Bolot Temirov was instructed not to leave the city, and signed a non-disclosure agreement. Bolot Temirov has been targetted with ongoing harassment. On 9 January 2020, Bolot Temirov was beaten by three unidentified men shortly after publishing a series of high-profile corruption reports. The human rights defender reported this incident to the authorities, following which the attackers were sentenced. However, those who hired the attackers in this incident were never identified In December 2021, he discovered a hidden camera and microphone in his living room. The human rights defender is accused of being a “traitor” in the services of foreign interests by a cyber- harassment campaign by nationalist propaganda websites. Moreover, Bolot Temirov announced via Temirov Live, that they were under close surveillance and that staff members had been subjected to repeated threats and blackmail by unknown individuals online. Several attempts had been made to hack Temirov Live’s passwords following the investigation. Front Line Defenders is deeply concerned about the judicial prosecution of human rights defender Bolot Temirov. Front Line Defenders further condemns the stripping of Bolot Temirov’s passport and Kyrgyz citizenship. Front Line Defender believes that the judicial prosecution of the human rights defenders and the stripping of Bolot Temirov’s passport and Kyrgyztan citizenship has a chilling effect on the peaceful and legitimate work of human rights defenders in Kyrgyzstan. Such targetting undermines acc

Kyrgyzstan authorities have stepped up the harassment of journalists and independent media with a slew of criminal investigations into their work in recent months, Human Rights Watch said today.

On March 29, 2022, following a motion by the Prosecutor General’s Office, a Bishkek district court found that a privately owned media outlet, Next TV, was “extremist” for reposting a commentary by a Ukrainian media outlet, Ukraine Now. The post implied that Kyrgyzstan would lend its military support to Russian forces in Ukraine. The court sent Next TV’s director, Taalaibek Duishenbiev, for pretrial detention on charges of inciting inter-ethnic hatred for reposting the commentary.

“The Kyrgyz authorities say they protect freedom of expression, yet try to silence critical voices and clamp down on independent media through criminal investigations and bogus charges,” said Syinat Sultanalieva, Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The authorities should release Taalaibek Duishenbiev, and drop all unfounded charges against him and other media targets that violate the right to freedom of expression.”

On March 3, the State Committee on National Security (SCNS) initiated a criminal investigation into Next TV for reposting the article, and police raided the office, detaining Duishenbiev, confiscating equipment, and ultimately sealing off the office. Both the prosecutor and the security agency can bring charges, but the security agency brings charges relating the threats to national security.

On March 5, a Pervomaiskiy district court ordered two months of pretrial detention for Duishenbiev and said he would face charges of inciting interethnic hatred, under article 330 of the Criminal Code, for reposting the commentary on the channel’s social media accounts. If convicted, Duishenbiev faces up to seven years in prison. On March 24 the Bishkek city court upheld the district court’s pretrial detention order. This decision cannot be further appealed.

Next TV’s lawyers appealed the decision to seal off the outlet’s office. But on March 22, the district court dismissed the appeal, leaving the outlet’s staff without access to the equipment and materials they use for their work.

Also on March 22, the Prosecutor General’s Office submitted its motion to the same Pervomaiskiy district court seeking a declaration that the reposting of the commentary was “extremist.” It also sought an order to stop Next TV from operating or distributing its media products on other online and offline news platforms.

On March 29 the district court ruled that the reposting was “extremist,” but dismissed the motion to prohibit the outlet’s work. The station’s lawyers are appealing the “extremist” determination to the Bishkek city court.

On March 5, the Kyrgyzstan ombudsperson, Atyr Abdrakhmatova, called on the courts to look into the legality of the security services’ closure of Next TV’s office.

Next TV is the third media outlet targeted by Kyrgyzstan authorities in recent months. On February 1, the Pervomaiskiy district prosecutor’s office initiated a criminal investigation into the reposting by Kaktus.Media of an article by a Tajik media outlet, Asia Plus, about a Kyrgyz-Tajik border skirmish on January 27. The Tajik article incorrectly alleged that Kyrgyz soldiers fired the first shots, provoking the response by Tajik military.

The prosecutor’s office said that these allegations constituted a criminal offense under Article 407 of the Criminal Code, “propaganda of war” and distribution of information aimed at “provoking aggression of one country against another or igniting a military conflict.” The investigation is ongoing. The penalty for conviction is a fine of up to 100,000 Kyrgyz soms (US $1,180) or up to five years in prison.

On January 22, Bishkek city police detained an investigative journalist, Bolot Temirov, director of Temirov Live, an independent online outlet, and former co-host of Factcheck.KG, a project that works to refute false claims and propaganda, on charges of illegal drug manufacturing. The police also searched his office and confiscated computer processors, hard drives, and documents. Temirov was released that same day with instructions not to leave the country. Temirov maintains that drugs allegedly found during the search were planted.

Many in the Kyrgyz media view the case as retaliation for his team’s investigation into dubious fuel export schemes related to the State Committee for National Security’s leadership. The report of that investigation had premiered on the outlet’s YouTube channel just two days before the authorities raided his office and detained him.

On January 31, Kyrgyzstan’s Institute of Media Policy called the drug manufacturing charges against Temirov Live and calls for investigation into Kaktus Media’s reposting a “massive attack” on freedom of expression. On February 15, dozens of journalists, media outlets, and expert organizations signed an open letter on the issue.

This harassment of investigative journalists and independent media outlets is taking place against the backdrop of other efforts to censor freedom of speech. On February 21, the Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports, and Youth Politics submitted for public consideration a draft decree to carry out the law On Protection from False Information, signed by President Sadyr Japarov on August 23, 2021. Human Rights Watch had previously reported that the law paves the way for state-managed censorship and runs counter to Kyrgyzstan’s national and international human rights obligations.

The draft decree would allow a person alleging that an outlet has published false information to ask the owners of the website or the social media page to take down the information. If they refuse, the person would be able to ask a to-be-established Communications Regulation and Supervision Service under the Ministry of Digital Development to suspend the website or page for up to two months.

The Kyrgyz Association of Telecom Operators has said that this decree would be impossible to carry out, and that it would undermine the Electric and Postal Communications law, which says that only a court can order restrictions on access to information if it rules that the information infringes on a person’s honor and dignity.

“Investigative journalism is an important cornerstone of a free and democratic society, and Kyrgyz authorities should immediately stop trying to stifle it, whether through bogus criminal investigations or oppressive laws,” Sultanalieva said. “They cannot just pay lip service to the importance of freedom of expression, but need to demonstrate they are upholding their international human rights obligations.”

Kyrgyz authorities should immediately repeal restrictions that prohibit any gatherings in front of the Russian Embassy in Bishkek, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should also cancel fines imposed on three human rights defenders detained on March 17, 2022, who were peacefully protesting outside the Russian Embassy.

The ban, which also applies to the parliament, government buildings, and the central square from March 11 to April 11, 2022, was imposed by a Bishkek district police department. Pervomaiskiy District Court upheld the ban on March 16, ruling that all gatherings during this period should be held at an alternate location in the city.

“The Kyrgyzstan authorities apparently want to keep protesters out of the public eye by barring them from prime locations,” said Syinat Sultanalieva, Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. “People have a right to peacefully express their concerns even if it makes the authorities uncomfortable.”

The ban is disproportionate by preemptively banning assemblies in those prime locations, regardless of their nature, Human Rights Watch said. It is incompatible with respect for freedom of assembly, as protected by Kyrgyzstan’s international human rights obligations, and its own constitution.

The decision has never officially been made public. It came to light later on March 11, when plain-clothes police detained two activists, Dinara Erkimbayeva and Lesya Khmet, who were picketing outside the Russian Embassy.

When confronted by police for allegedly violating the ban, the activists asked to see the court’s decision, but the police officers were unable to produce it. Instead, the police took Erkimbayeva and Khmet to the Pervomaiskiy district police center and accused them of disobeying police orders but did not follow through with formal charges.

Erkimbayeva and Khmet’s lawyer, Dmitry Kabak, told Human Rights Watch that they appealed the district court’s decision, but the Bishkek City Court rejected it on March 16. On March 17 the activists appealed to the Supreme Court and are awaiting a hearing date. Also on March 17, three other human rights defenders, Aziza Abdirasulova, Dinara Oshurakhunova, and Ondurush Toktonasyrov, held a picket outside of the Russian Embassy to protest the unlawful restriction of freedom of assembly and to express solidarity with Ukraine. The police detained them and took them to the district court to be charged with hooliganism and disobeying police orders, in violation of articles 126 and 128 of the Code of Offenses respectively.

On March 18, Pervomaiskiy district court found Oshurakhunova not guilty of hooliganism, but all three were found guilty of disobeying police orders and each fined 3000 Kyrgyz soms (approx. $US 30). They plan to appeal, their representative said.

The district police called in their lawyer, Nurbek Toktakunov, for questioning. The police told him he was being charged with hooliganism for allegedly speaking ill of the judges on the court. The district court found him guilty on March 24 and sentenced him to five days in detention. He is appealing the conviction.

The country’s constitution forbids any restrictions on freedom of assembly, including any interference with the date, duration, and place of assembly, except as provided for by law. The Law on Peaceful Assemblies provides that a gathering can only be banned on the basis of a court finding that it has an unlawful purpose such as war propaganda or incitement of ethnic, racial, or religious hatred, or is a threat to national security, public order, or to the rights and freedoms of other people.

In line with standards under international human rights law, the Law on Peaceful Assemblies, also requires that any restrictions, such as those related to time, location, or size of gatherings must be for a legitimate purpose, proportionate to that purpose, and demonstrably necessary to achieve their goal. However, the district court issued its decision upholding a blanket ban on all meetings in front of the Russian Embassy and other political buildings, without doing the required analysis to justify such a broad ban, Human Rights Watch said.

The Ombudsperson of Kyrgyzstan, Atyr Abdrakhmatova, expressed her opinion that the ban is incompatible with the constitution and Kyrgzstan’s international obligations, in particular article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), as interpreted by the UN Human Rights Committee.

The committee, in its General Comment No. 37, warned against bans on assemblies taking place near courts, parliaments, or other official buildings, and noted that any “restrictions on assemblies in and around such places must be specifically justified and narrowly circumscribed.” The committee has underscored that “peaceful assemblies should not be relegated to remote areas where they cannot effectively capture the attention of those who are being addressed, or the general public.”

On March 23, Dastan Bekeshev, a member of parliament, posted screen shots of the district court’s decision on his public Telegram channel. The court referred to an official note of protest submitted by the Russian Embassy to the Kyrgyz Ministry of Foreign Affairs on March 5, concerning anti-war demonstrations since February 24, the date Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine started, and alleged complaints by residents near the Embassy about protests. The court imposed the ban on grounds of public order but does not set out the legal rationale to justify the ban that is so broad as to cover all peaceful meetings outside the Russian Embassy, parliament, government buildings, and the central square.

The ban should be repealed, the convictions of Oshurakunova, Abdirasulova, Toktakunov, and Ondurushev vacated, and the fines canceled, Human Rights Watch said.

“This unjustified ban on all peaceful assemblies in front of the Russian Embassy is not just about the right to freedom of assembly, but also the right to freedom of expression,” Sultanalieva said. “Kyrgyz authorities should repeal the ban and not try to impose other restrictions which are incompatible with their domestic and international human rights obligations.”

The Kyrgyz authorities have ordered pretrial detention for the director of the NEXT television channel over the airing of a controversial report in which an interviewee alleged the existence of an agreement between Bishkek and Moscow to send troops to Ukraine.

A Bishkek court ruled on March 5 that Taalai Duishembiev must remain in detention until at least May 3.

Duishembiev's lawyer, Timur Sultanov, vowed to appeal the ruling.

On March 3, the State Committee for National Security (UKMK) said it had launched a probe against the TV channel for inciting ethnic hatred.

The report in question quoted the exiled former chief of the Committee for National Security (KNB) of neighboring Kazakhstan, Alnur Musaev, as saying that Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan had agreed to support Moscow's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by sending troops to help Russia.

There has been no evidence of Tajik or Kyrgyz troops fighting in Ukraine since the invasion was launched on February 24.

The station's owner, Ravshan Jeenbekov, has rejected the charge, insisting that the report quoted Musaev directly while giving other people's views on the issue as well.

The Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry has rejected the report and has called on local media outlets to base their reporting on the ongoing war in Ukraine solely on official government statements.

On March 5, Foreign Minister Ruslan Kazakbaev, who met Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow the same day, called Russia a strategic partner with "especially privileged ties based on mutual trust and understanding on bilateral level and in frames of integrational unions and international organizations."

Kyrgyzstan authorities should drop their criminal investigation into independent news website Kaktus.media and allow all media outlets to operate freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the prosecutor general’s office announced a criminal investigation into Kaktus.media over its publication of an article, originally published by a Tajik news website, concerning a recent clash at the disputed border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

The prosecutor’s office stated that the article, reposted from the Tajik website ASIA-Plus, inaccurately alleged that Kyrgyz soldiers fired the first shots in the confrontation, which could constitute a violation of Article 407 of Kyrgyzstan’s criminal code, which bans the “propaganda of war” and the publication of information “with the aim of provoking aggression or igniting military conflict.”

The penalty for conviction is a fine of up to 100,000 soms (US$1,180) or up to five years in prison, according to the criminal code.

Kaktus.media founder and director Dina Maslova told CPJ via messaging app that investigators summoned her and two of the outlet’s editors for questioning on Monday, and she believed the case was a part of authorities’ wider crackdown on the independent press in Kyrgyzstan.

“Kyrgyz authorities’ investigation into Kaktus.media for so-called ‘war propaganda’ offenses is absurd, and is an obvious attempt to intimidate and harass the outlet,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, in New York. “Republishing news from foreign outlets is not a crime. Authorities in Kyrgyzstan must immediately halt their investigation into Kaktus.media and let all independent outlets operate freely.”

Maslova told CPJ that such “war propaganda” charges have not been brought before in Kyrgyzstan to her knowledge, so she did not know how the case would develop.

Maslova said that Kaktus.media, one of the country’s most popular news websites, reprinted the ASIA-Plus article on the border conflict on the evening of January 27, but deleted it soon thereafter.

The next morning, following an outcry on social media, the outlet issued a statement explaining that the goal of publication had been to show the Kyrgyz public what kind of information Tajik authorities were distributing to their citizens. The Kaktus.media editorial team “has always adhered to and continues to adhere to the national interests of the Kyrgyz people,” the statement said.

Later that day, a small group of demonstrators protested outside Kaktus.media’s office, calling for the outlet to be closed down and making calls against other prominent independent outlets, according to news reports.

On the evening of January 31, state news channel Ala-Too 24 broadcast a report on Kaktus.media, and called for outlets to be held accountable for publishing false information; that report did not mention that the article in question was a reprint.

Since January 28, Kaktus.media has reported a number of attempts to hack its Instagram account and the personal accounts of its journalists on social media platforms, and the outlet has been subject to trolling and distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, reports said.

On January 31, dozens of media outlets, journalists and media advocacy organizations published an open letter calling on authorities to stop their “mass attack” on media outlets and journalists through criminal cases, coordinated trolling, and surveillance.

CPJ emailed the prosecutor general’s office for comment, but did not immediately receive any reply.

A noted investigative journalist in Kyrgyzstan was briefly detained for questioning in an unspecified case amid concerns by rights activists.

Semetei Talas Uulu's wife, Aiym Usupbaeva, told RFE/RL on February 18 that officers from the State Committee for National Security (UKMK) searched their home, confiscated belongings and books related to religion, and took her husband away.

Talas Uulu's supporters and rights activists planned to hold a rally in central Bishkek, but the 41-year-old journalist was released from the UKMK a short while afterward, telling reporters that he was questioned in a criminal case.

"Investigations are going on in a criminal case. I was asked not to reveal any other details," Talas Uulu said.

The UKMK said in a statement that Talas Uulu was questioned as a witness in a case involving the distribution of extremist materials. No more details were given.

Talas Uulu has been known for his online investigative articles revealing corruption among top officials in the Central Asian nation.

Kyrgyzstan authorities should immediately and credibly investigate claims that police planted drugs on journalist Bolot Temirov and ensure that employees at his news outlet can work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday.

At about 7:30 p.m. on January 22, more than a dozen masked narcotics police officers raided the office of the YouTube-based investigative outlet Temirov Live in the capital of Bishkek, searched it for about three hours, and arrested Temirov, its founder, after allegedly finding drugs in his possession, according to news reports and the journalist and his lawyer, Nurbek Toktakunov, both of whom spoke to CPJ by phone.

The following day, police charged Temirov with drug possession and released him on bail, according to a statement by the Bishkek police department and Toktakunov.

During the raid, police forced male staff members to the ground, Temirov said, adding that officers put a bag of drugs into his back pocket while pinning him down. The journalist’s wife, Makhabat Tazhibek kyzy, who was at the scene, told CPJ that she saw officers plant drugs on her husband.

“The dubious drug charge brought against Kyrgyz journalist Bolot Temirov, mere days after he released an investigation into a leading state official, reeks of retaliation for his work,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia Program coordinator, in New York. “Authorities must seriously investigate allegations that police planted drugs on Temirov and ensure that members of the press can cover sensitive topics without fear of harassment.”

If convicted of drug possession, Temirov could face a fine of up to 200,000 som (US$2,360) or up to five years in prison under Kyrgyzstan’s criminal code.

Two days before his arrest, Temirov published a video investigation alleging that family members of State Committee for National Security head Kamchybek Tashiev were involved in a corruption scheme relating to a state-owned petroleum refinery. Temirov told CPJ that he believed the drug charge was retaliation for that investigation.

Police confiscated Temirov Live’s computers during the raid, Temirov said, adding that he believed authorities sought to access files about upcoming investigations, as Temirov Live frequently covers top government officials.

Following the raid, police tested Temirov’s urine for heroin, marijuana, and synthetic drugs, with negative results, Toktakunov said. Police then questioned the journalist in the presence of lawyers at the Bishkek police department and released him at about 2:30 p.m. on January 23, after he agreed not to leave the city and signed a nondisclosure agreement, according to Toktakunov and those reports.

Also on the evening of January 22, Bishkek police arrested Kyrgyz folk singer Bolot Nazarov, according to reports and Toktakunov. Nazarov contributes to Temirov Live’s investigative work and publishes folk songs about the outlet’s investigations on its sister channel Ayt Ayt Dese, according to those reports and Tazhibek kyzy, who works as a project manager for Ayt Ayt Dese.

Tazhibek kyzy told CPJ that Nazarov’s folk songs help Temirov Live’s work spread to Kyrgyzstan’s provinces, where they are better received in that format.

On January 23, authorities charged Nazarov with drug possession and inducement to consume narcotics, and placed him under house arrest pending investigation, according to Toktakunov and those reports, which said he denied the charges. The inducement charge is punishable by two to five years in prison if convicted, according to the criminal code.

The Bishkek police stated that a woman by the initials A. A. had filed a complaint earlier that day against “a man named Bolot” who allegedly tried to induce her to take drugs at the Temirov Live office. The statement did not specify whether “Bolot” referred to Temirov or Nazarov.

At a press conference on January 23, Kamchybek Tashiev stated that Temirov Live’s investigation contained “blatant lies and slander.” He denied that the State Committee for National Security had anything to do with the raid on the outlet’s office, which was conducted by the Interior Ministry, but added that the state committee would soon reveal where the outlet receives its funding from to produce such “destructive and lying investigations.”

Separately, on January 23, Temirov Live announced that Temirov discovered a hidden camera in his bedroom in December 2021, and that unspecified individuals had repeatedly threatened and blackmailed Temirov Live staff to pass on information about future investigations. In that video, Temirov Live presenter Aktilek Kaparov claimed that the outlet had identified a vehicle stationed outside the outlet’s office the day before the January 22 search – and before A.A.’s complaint to police – as having been previously used in law enforcement operations.

Temirov confirmed those details to CPJ but did not provide further information on the alleged threats or blackmail. He added that attempts had been made to hack Temirov Live’s passwords following the January 20 investigation.

Previously, on January 9, 2020, when he was chief editor of the independent news website Factcheck, Temirov was beaten by three unidentified men shortly after the outlet published a series of high-profile corruption reports, as CPJ documented at the time.

CPJ emailed the Interior Ministry and the State Committee for National Security for comment, and sent questions to Tashiev to the committee’s email address, but did not immediately receive any replies.

An organizer of March rallies against Kyrgyzstan's constitutional amendments has been sentenced to 18 months in prison on a charge of calling to seize power by force.

Bishkek's Sverdlov district court on August 20 sentenced Tilekmat Kudaibergenov (aka Kurenov), who reiterated his innocence after his sentence was pronounced.

Kudaibergenov was arrested in mid-March and later transferred to house arrest.

Before his detention, police searched his home and the office of the Against KHANstitution movement that opposed the amendments initiated by President Sadyr Japarov.

Kudaibergenov is one the organizers of March 9 rallies in Bishkek against the amendments that ended up being approved in a nationwide referendum on April 11.

Critics have said that the constitutional amendments that very much increased presidential powers helped Japarov to consolidate power.

Kudaibergenov is a noted activist also known as a founder and a leader of a movement against granting concessions for the Jetim-Too iron ore field near the Chinese border to foreign investors.

On March 11, officers of the Kyrgyz State Committee for National Security (GKNB) summoned Kanimetov, a reporter and presenter with the independent television broadcaster Aprel, to their headquarters in Bishkek, the capital, and interrogated him in connection with a criminal case he previously reported on, according to news reports and the journalist, who wrote about the incident on his Facebook page and spoke to CPJ in a video interview.

Although Kanimetov was summoned as a witness, investigators questioned him as if he was a suspect in a criminal case, but did not accuse him of any specific crimes, according to the journalist and his lawyer, Nurbek Sydykov, who was present with him during questioning, and who spoke to CPJ in a phone interview.

Separately, in early April, police questioned several of Kanimetov’s relatives about his whereabouts and also questioned their neighbors, Kanimetov told CPJ and wrote on Facebook, adding that his relatives were unsure of the exact date of the questioning. The journalist told CPJ that he believed these actions were authorities’ attempts to pressure him in retaliation for his critical news coverage.

Aprel regularly broadcasts material critical of Kyrgyz authorities, and has operated online since its assets were frozen by court order in August 2019, according to reports. The station’s YouTube channel has nearly 200,000 subscribers, and its recent coverage includes frequent criticism of President Sadyr Japarov and of the GKNB and its head.

“Kyrgyz authorities should immediately stop harassing journalist Kanat Kanimetov and members of his family, and ensure he can hold the country’s leadership to account without fear of retribution,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, in New York. “Rather than attempting to intimidate inconvenient journalists, authorities under the newly elected President Sadyr Japarov must realize that criticism and a diversity of views are essential components of the democratic society that they claim to be building.”

During the March 11 questioning, GKNB officers asked Kanimetov about his coverage of a high-profile criminal case, which involved a former presidential candidate; he had reported on the story while working at the state-owned broadcaster KTRK in 2016 and 2017, the journalist told CPJ.

“There is every reason to believe that the GKNB are digging into me too,” Kanimetov wrote on Facebook; he denied that he had any connection to the case beyond his news coverage.

Weeks later, at about 11 p.m. on a night in early April, five police officers arrived at Kanimetov’s childhood home in the town of Balykchy, in the Issyk-Kul region, where his mother and relatives of his deceased father live, he told CPJ. He said the officers threatened to search the premises, and demanded to know Kanimetov’s place of residence, despite the fact that he has been officially registered at an address in Bishkek for over a year, he told CPJ.

Kanimetov said that his relatives were frightened by the experience and did not tell him about it until several weeks later, because they were afraid that their phone calls with him were being monitored.

The officers told the journalist’s relatives that Kanimetov had ignored a court summons, though Kanimetov says that no summons has been served to him since the first interrogation on March 11.

Kanimetov said that police also questioned his relatives’ neighbors, but the neighbors were too scared to tell Kanimetov what they were asked.

Kanimetov told CPJ said that his relatives were shaken by the incident; he described both that episode and the earlier interrogation of him as “links in the same chain” of psychological pressure by the authorities.

“The authorities treat us journalists like we are politicians or something, like we’re trying to take power and sit in their seats,” Kanimetov told CPJ. “When really we are just doing our work, covering stories, giving analysis, and conveying our opinions.”

CPJ emailed the Ministry of Interior of Kyrgyzstan, the State Committee for National Security, and the Issyk-Kul Regional Department of Internal Affairs for comment, but did not receive any replies.