A Kyrgyz court has labeled three independent news outlets as “extremist” organizations and banned their publications, in the latest escalation of a crackdown on media outlets investigating corruption and criticizing the government.
The October District Court in Bishkek ruled that the “information materials” of Temirov Live, Kloop.kg (Public Foundation “Kloop Media”), and Ait Ait Dese — as well as the activities of their founders, Bolot Temirov and Rinat Tukhvatshin — were “extremist.” The court only used the initials of Temirov and Tukhvatshin. It also ordered a ban on their online activities.
The ruling, issued at the request of the Prosecutor’s Office, will be enforced by the Ministry of Digital Development. No additional details about the case were provided.
Both Temirov Live and Kloop said they will appeal the ruling.
“This is another round of repression that, unfortunately, will affect not only us but all of Kyrgyzstan — both in terms of reputational damage and through the criminalization of many innocent people,” said Kloop founder Rinat Tukhvatshin. “We will continue our work. Actions like these by the authorities only demonstrate how important it is.”
The court decision is part of a broader campaign against independent media that began after President Sadyr Japarov took office in October 2020.
The crackdown intensified in January 2024, when police raided the offices and homes of 11 Temirov Live employees, charging them with “inciting mass unrest.” Seven were later acquitted, two were given three years’ probation, and two — Makhabat Tazhibek Kyzy and Azamat Ishenbekov — received prison sentences of six and five years, respectively. Ishenbekov was later pardoned by the president.
In February 2024, a court ordered the closure of Kloop, an award-winning investigative outlet known for its reporting on corruption. Prosecutors argued that its stories “affected people’s mental health” by “upsetting” them with negative information.
The campaign has continued through 2025. In August, the independent broadcaster April TV announced its closure following a court ruling sought by the Prosecutor’s Office, which claimed the move was necessary to “protect public safety and prevent the dissemination of illegal information.”
In September, two Kloop cameramen were sentenced to five years in prison, while two former accountants received three years’ probation, all on charges of conspiring to “incite mass unrest.”
Kyrgyzstan’s assault on independent journalism has drawn international condemnation. The country dropped more than 50 places in Reporters Without Borders’ 2024 Press Freedom Index, while Freedom House and other watchdogs have documented a steep decline in media freedom.
