The trial of four former employees of Kloop, an independent news outlet and OCCRP’s partner, resumed September 1 in Bishkek, but none of the prosecution’s witnesses supported the charges against them.
The Pervomaisky District Court heard testimony from six people, including former staffers and an office manager. The defendants—cameramen Alexander Alexandrov and Zhoomart Duulatov, along with two accountants—are accused of aiding calls for mass unrest.
All six witnesses distanced themselves from the allegations. Aidai Erkebaeva told the court she never worked on investigative stories and said the cameramen focused on environmental segments while the accountants only processed salaries. “I never saw any calls for unrest,” she said, according to local outlet Tandyr Media.
Other witnesses, including Abdil Torobaev and Zarina Sydygalieva, said they handled promotion and social media, not investigations, and never heard the defendants encourage protests. Several admitted only vague knowledge of the newsroom through colleagues or acquaintances.
Defense lawyer Kaysyn Abakirov stressed that “not a single witness confirmed the guilt of the defendants.” Legal expert Nurbek Toktakunov told Kloop that “there are no prosecution witnesses in this case.”
“No one gave incriminating testimony, although they are presented as prosecution witnesses. Why they are called that is unclear,” he said.
The court also questioned witnesses about Kloop’s past cooperation with investigative journalist Bolot Temirov, who was expelled from Kyrgyzstan after publishing corruption exposés. Some confirmed joint projects, but the case file reportedly contains only Temirov’s videos, not Kloop’s publications.
According to the indictment, five of Temirov’s videos were submitted as evidence. Linguistic experts concluded the clips included negative information about President Sadyr Japarov and showed “signs of calls to protest and disorder.” Investigators acknowledged the videos were Temirov’s work but still listed them as proof against Kloop staff.
The next hearing is set for September 9.
The case follows sweeping arrests of current and former Kloop employees in late May, when security agents from the State Committee for National Security interrogated, searched, or detained at least 12 people, including journalists’ acquaintances. Several were questioned without lawyers and forced to read apologies on camera.
Alexandrov and Duulatov were initially held without legal counsel, first in a temporary detention center and later in pretrial custody. Lawyers’ motions to release them under house arrest were denied. The two accountants were first questioned as witnesses but reclassified as defendants in July. Their current restrictions remain unclear.
