Kyrgyz authorities detained a sixth employee of OCCRP partner Kloop on Thursday, a day after five current and former staff members were taken in for questioning and accused of inciting mass unrest and spreading anti-government disinformation.
On Wednesday, two individuals — one current and one former employee of the outlet known for exposing corruption and organized crime in Central Asia — were detained for 48 hours, while three others were released after hours of interrogation, during which they had no access to legal representation.
The State Committee for National Security (GKNB) has not issued an official statement, but the head of the Kyrgyz president’s press service, Daiyrbek Orunbekov, claimed the journalists were questioned for allegedly assisting investigative reporter Bolot Temirov. According to Orunbekov, Temirov paid the journalists to conduct “false investigations.”
Temirov, who was stripped of his Kyrgyz citizenship and forced into exile, seems to be back in focus of Kyrgyzs authorities. Orunbekov claimed on Facebook that the journalists had admitted to “carrying out Temirov’s illegal instructions” and had “refused to cooperate with him further,” adding that they confessed to “spreading false information and writing hit pieces against the state.”
Both Temirov and Kloop founder Rinat Tukhvatshin called the claims lies.
“They’re trying to fabricate a case to suit this person’s sick fantasies,” Temirov told OCCRP, referring to Orunbekov. “I don’t even know most of those journalists.”
“All detained reporters are Kloop journalists or their friends. As far as I know, they never worked with Bolot,” Tukhvatshin added.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned the actions, calling them illegal and demanding the immediate release of the journalists.
The arrests began on Wednesday when GKNB agents raided the home of journalist Zyyagul Bolot kyzy in Osh and took her into custody. Cameraman Aleksandr Aleksandrov was detained in Bishkek a few hours later. Journalist Aiday Erkebaeva was also brought in for questioning in the capital, along with former Kloop journalists Zara Sydygalieva and Joomart Duulatov. On Thursday, social media specialist Abdil Torobaev was also taken into custody.
Only two journalists managed to alert Kloop’s newsroom before being detained. The whereabouts of the others remained unknown for some time, until it was confirmed they were in GKNB custody. None of them had access to legal counsel during questioning.
“These actions are a gross violation of the Criminal Procedure Code and human rights. People are being held virtually incommunicado, without even the chance to make a phone call. This goes beyond detention — it’s an abduction,” said Tukhvatshin.
Kloop’s lawyer, Bakyt Avtandil, also criticized the GKNB’s conduct.
“Neither the accused nor their relatives were given copies of the search reports, warrants, or court authorizations. We believe these were emergency searches, which by law must be justified before an investigative judge,” he said.
The GKNB claimed legal representation wasn’t necessary during what they called ‘personal conversations’ with the suspects, he said. “We consider this a serious violation. I was denied access to my clients for more than six hours.”
