Kyrgyz Supreme Court Upholds Prison Sentences for Journalists in Crackdown on Press Freedom

The Kyrgyz Supreme Court upheld on Tuesday a lower court ruling that sentenced two journalists to prison in a case international rights groups see as an attack on press freedom.

The ruling is final and leaves journalists Makhabat Tazhibek Kyzy in prison for six years and Azamat Ishenbekov for five. They were accused, along with nine colleagues, of inciting and organizing mass riots. In reality, they were reporting on corruption in their country.

In October 2024, Tazhibek Kyzy and Ishenbekov were sentenced to prison, while two other colleagues were released on probation. Other reporters were acquitted due to a lack of evidence.

The case provoked organizations like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch or Reporters without Borders to conclude that Kyrgyzstan is trying to muzzle free speech.

Tazhibek Kyzy, Ishenbekov, and one of the journalists on probation filed an appeal, which the Supreme Court reviewed on Tuesday.

The incarcerated reporters were not even brought to court. It took the judges just 20 minutes to decide to uphold the sentence.

“We hoped that Makhabat Tazhibek Kyzy and Azamat Ishenbekov would be released or that their punishment would be reduced. We were waiting for it,” their lawyer, Nursultan Zhanybekov, told Kloop, OCCRP’s member center in Kyrgyzstan.

Tazhibek Kyzy’s husband, Bolot Temirov, who has been forced into exile, says the case is politically motivated.

“Authorities themselves act like terrorists—intimidating and taking hostages. This is a dictatorship,” Temirov told OCCRP.

But Temirov is not giving up the fight.

“The Supreme Court’s decision demonstrated the weakness of the government. We didn’t sell out and won’t submit to this regime. We will continue our fight for the future of Kyrgyzstan,” he wrote on X.