Four journalists and media personnel in Kyrgyzstan were convicted today of inciting mass unrest, and two were sentenced to multi-year prison terms. The individuals are current or former employees of OCCRP partner and investigative YouTube channel Temirov Live and its affiliate channel Ait Ait Dese. Temirov Live is one of Kyrgyzstan’s most prominent investigative outlets and has reported extensively on government corruption.
"Muzzling independent media is straight out of the authoritarian playbook," said OCCRP Publisher Drew Sullivan. "This verdict is not surprising given the downward trajectory of Kyrgyzstan during the last few years, but it is extremely disappointing because the Kyrgyz public is being denied truthful information and the act of journalism is being criminalized.”
The convicted journalists were among 11 from Temirov Live arrested in January in an overnight roundup. One of them, Makhabat Tazhibek kyzy, the director of the media outlet, is also the wife of its founder, Bolot Temirov, who has been stripped of his citizenship and forced into exile. Tazhibek kyzy was sentenced to six years in prison, and because her husband is no longer in Kyrgyzstan, a judge announced their son would be sent to an orphanage.
Makhabat’s sentencing is cruel and tragic,” said OCCRP Editor in Chief Miranda Patrucic. “Japarov’s Kyrgyzstan has gone full-force against a single man who spoke the truth, and is now targeting his family. Meanwhile, the corrupt and those who looted the country of millions of dollars are given a slap on the wrist.”
Another of the journalists, Azamat Ishenbekov, a poet who told stories about corruption through songs and raps in order to better connect with Kyrgyz audiences, received a five-year prison sentence, and two others were found guilty but freed on probation. Seven were acquitted.
“Azamat’s only fault was bringing Temirov Live stories to a wider audience through forms they could identify with. He should be freed,” Patrucic said.
OCCRP has chronicled the democratic backsliding in the country, including the arrest on trumped up drug charges and deportation of Temirov and the shutdown of OCCRP member center Kloop for “practicing journalism without a license,” amid accusations of “affecting people’s mental health” by “upsetting” them with negative information.
In May this year, OCCRP and partners published an investigation showing how Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov has drastically decreased transparency into public spending and how government projects are being implemented by companies owned by people who appear to be close to the president.
In March, OCCRP launched “Uncensored: The Kyrgyzstan Project,” including a #FreeKyrgyz11 campaign that pressed for the charges to be dropped and asked people to make videos in support of the jailed journalists. People from all sectors around the world answered the call.
Temirov Live continues to report from outside Kyrgyzstan, as reporting in exile is becoming increasingly common as more governments turn to draconian laws and spurious charges to silence in-country press.
For more information, please contact Head of Communications Lauren Jackman at lauren@occrp.org.