Kyrgyz authorities place 11 journalists in two-month pre-trial detention 

Kyrgyz authorities have ordered 11 independent journalists accused of calling for mass disturbances to be placed in two-month pre-trail detention.  

The journalists were detained on Tuesday, after police raided and searched their homes and offices. They all represent the multi-media Temirov Live, Ait Ait Dese, Archa Media information projects and PolitKlinika website. All are known for doing journalistic investigations into official corruption.  

A post on the Temirov Live Facebook page alleged that the crackdown was “revenge” by Interior Minister Ulan Niyazbekov for the media platform’s recent reports that “revealed his wrongdoings”.  

In December, Temirov Live’s You Tube channel published a report alleging Minister Niyazbekov’s link with criminal groups involved in smuggling fuel.  

The journalists’ arrests were on Thursday criticised by The International Press Institute. It demanded their immediate release. 

The IPI Deputy Director Scott Griffen described “the mass jailing” of Kyrgyz journalists as “a serious attack on press freedom”. 

“We call on Kyrgyz authorities to immediately release the journalists in custody and to end their pattern of harassing journalists and independent media outlets,” he said. 

Temirov Live’s founder, Bolot Temirov, denied, in an interview with the IPI, that the media platform’s investigation into the interior ministry’s alleged misdeeds included calls for riots.  

“[Authorities are] equating [alleged] discreditation [of an official] with calls [for riots]. Which is absurd, since the criminal code clearly states that there must be a call to violence, and there is nothing like this in our publications.  

“There are facts about mansions [owned by] the minister of interior, the fuel business of his uncle, as well as complaints against law enforcement officers,” Temirov was quoted as saying. 

He also accused President Sadyr Japarov and the security service of “clamping down on freedom of speech”. 

Temirov, who holds both Kyrgyz and Russian passports, was in 2022 deported from Kyrgyzstan. 

President Japarov on Monday pledged to provide “a harsh response to those who seek to stir up unrest, involving the masses”. He vowed to “act pre-emptively and uncover evil-minded leaders, who are ready to bring people out” onto the streets.  

On Wednesday, presidential adviser Cholponbek Abykeev accused the detained journalists of “confusing freedom of speech and democracy with anarchy”. 

The same day, Kyrgyz deputy culture minister Marat Tagayev criticised the local media for “exaggerating the information they publish”. 

On Monday, the security services raided and searched the office of 24.kg news website. Its director and two editors were questioned over a publication related to the war in Ukraine.    

In September, Kyrgyz authorities blocked access to the independent news website Kloop.kg and filed a request with courts to close it down. 

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