A court in Kyrgyzstan released prominent investigative journalist Makhabat Tazhibek kyzy from custody on Monday, placing her under travel restrictions pending a new trial after she spent 18 months behind bars.
The decision by the Lenin District Court followed a ruling earlier this month by the Kyrgyz Supreme Court, which overturned the journalist's six-year prison sentence and ordered a retrial.
Bolot Temirov, her husband and the editor-in-chief of the investigative outlet Temirov Live, confirmed her release on Facebook.
"Makhabat's preventive measure was changed to a travel ban. ... Good news!" Temirov wrote.
However, the court refused to dismiss the criminal case or exclude the conclusions of a forensic linguistic analysis from the case files as evidence of a violation of the law.
Tazhibek kyzy was the last of her colleagues to be released after police detained them during mass raids in January 2024. Authorities accused the group of inciting and organizing mass riots.
She was sentenced to six years in prison in October 2024. Of the 11 journalists originally detained, her colleague Azamat Ishenbekov was sentenced to five years but was later pardoned by the president. Two others, Aktilek Kaparov and Aike Beishekeeva, were released on probation, while the remaining journalists were acquitted due to a lack of evidence.
The mass arrests and subsequent trials drew widespread international condemnation. Groups including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders accused Kyrgyzstan of a concerted effort to muzzle free speech.
The Supreme Court decided to review the case and overturn Tazhibek kyzy's sentence after a U.N. working group publicly called for the journalist's release. Temirov believes this international advocacy was a key reason for his wife's release.
"Thanks to international pressure, this became possible," the journalist emphasized. "But there is still a fight ahead for the full vindication of her and others too."
