New York, October 10, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Thursday’s sentencing of Temirov Live’s director Makhabat Tajibek kyzy and presenter Azamat Ishenbekov to six and five years in prison respectively on charges of calling for mass unrest. They plan to appeal.
“By sentencing two anti-corruption journalists to lengthy prison terms on retaliatory charges, Kyrgyzstan has forfeited its reputation as a relative haven of press freedom in Central Asia and entered a dark new page in its history,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “Kyrgyz authorities should not contest the appeals of Makhabat Tajibek kyzy and Azamat Ishenbekov and lift all restrictions on other Temirov Live journalists. International partners must press the Kyrgyz government to reverse its growing attacks on the press.”
The other verdicts in the Temirov Live trial were:
- Aike Beishekeyeva and Aktilek Kaparov: sentenced to three years’ probation.
- Sapar Akunbekov, Saipidin Sultanaliev, Tynystan Asypbekov, Maksat Tajibek uulu, Joodar Buzumov, Jumabek Turdaliev, and Akyl Orozbekov: not guilty.
Kyrgyz police arrested the 11 current and former staff of Temirov Live, a local partner of the global Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), in January. By April, all but the four convicted on October 10 had been released into house arrest or under travel bans.
The indictment, reviewed by CPJ, alleges that Temirov Live and its sister project Ait Ait Dese “indirectly” called for mass unrest by “discrediting” authorities in their videos.
The journalists’ lawyers said the case was built on “untenable” testimony from state-appointed expert linguists and political scientists who analyzed the outlet’s videos.
Temirov Live’s founder Bolot Temirov, who has been deported and banned from Kyrgyzstan, has said the charges may be in retaliation for the outlet’s investigations into alleged corruption, including by President Sadyr Japarov. Japarov said last month that the Temirov Live journalists were “paid to sit on social media and spread false information calling for mass unrest.” Since Japarov came to power in 2020, Kyrgyz authorities have launched an unprecedented crackdown on independent reporting
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.
CPJ Staff | Radio Free (2024-10-10T14:11:33+00:00) CPJ condemns convictions of 4 Temirov Live journalists in Kyrgyzstan. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2024/10/10/cpj-condemns-convictions-of-4-temirov-live-journalists-in-kyrgyzstan/
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