A district court in Bishkek has ordered the liquidation of April TV, one of Kyrgyzstan’s few remaining independent broadcasters, intensifying what some observers are calling an ongoing campaign to silence dissenting voices in the country’s media landscape. The decision, handed down by the Oktyabr District Court on July 9, followed a lawsuit brought by state prosecutors who alleged that the broadcaster’s content was “biased, one-sided, destructive and manipulative,” and posed a threat to the constitutional order. In a related development, on July 11, President Sadyr Japarov signed a new law clamping down on media freedom into force.

In the district court, prosecutors argued that April TV’s content risked inciting mass unrest and undermining the authority of the state. The court’s ruling cited assessments conducted by the State Committee for National Security (GKNB), which claimed that the broadcaster’s video reports negatively influenced public opinion, insulted government officials, and could provoke calls for the seizure of power.

Over the past two years, President Japarov’s administration claims to have successfully thwarted several attempted coups and assassination plots targeting high-ranking officials. These incidents, according to the government, highlight ongoing challenges to political stability in Kyrgyzstan, which has framed its efforts as critical to ensuring the country’s continued progress amidst a complex regional and domestic landscape.

In addition to terminating April TV’s legal status, the court also authorized the blocking of its online platforms and affiliated channels, including the popular YouTube-based partner channel Next TV.

Editor-in-chief of April TV, Dmitriy Lozhnikov, rejected the government’s claims, defending the station’s critical tone and stating that “criticizing the government isn’t a crime, but one of the core functions of the press.” In a final message before going offline, the outlet declared it was taking “a vacation from which [we] might never return.” At least ten current and former staff members of April TV were summoned for questioning by the GKNB as part of a broader criminal probe. No specific charges have been disclosed.

The closure of April TV mirrors actions taken against other prominent independent outlets in Kyrgyzstan over the past two years. In February 2024, a Bishkek court approved the liquidation of Kloop, a media organization known for its investigative reporting on corruption – a ruling later upheld by the Supreme Court. The authorities claimed that its charter did not permit Kloop to engage in journalism, and objected to what they described as the “negative tone” of its reporting.

In late May, the security forces conducted coordinated raids on the homes of eight current and former Kloop employees in Bishkek and Osh — detaining two on charges of “public calls for mass unrest” and compelling the others to sign non-disclosure agreements.

Kloop has relocated its operations abroad, maintaining access to its content in Kyrgyzstan through mirror sites and launching a new podcast studio in Georgia. Despite mounting pressure, the outlet’s leadership remains defiant, vowing to continue producing the “most incisive investigations, the most objective news, and the boldest commentary.”

In a similar vein, the investigative media outlet Temirov Live, founded by journalist Bolot Temirov, has faced sustained pressure from the authorities. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, in January 2024, security forces raided the outlet’s Bishkek office and detained eleven of its current and former journalists. The group was later charged with inciting mass disorder through a satirical video published on social media.

In October 2024, editor-in-chief Makhabat Tazhibek Kyzy was sentenced to six years in prison, while another journalist, Azamat Ishenbekov, received a five-year term, drawing condemnation from press freedom advocates. Two other journalists were sentenced to three years of probation, whilst the remaining seven were acquitted. Temirov, who was deported from Kyrgyzstan in 2022 under controversial circumstances, characterized the court ruling as “revenge” for the outlet’s corruption investigations, calling it a “punitive decision to scare journalists and our citizens.”

These developments come against the backdrop of a growing legal arsenal being deployed against independent media. On July 11, just two days after the April TV ruling, President Japarov signed a new law targeting “false information,” which allows the police to fine individuals and organizations for publishing or sharing content deemed to be misleading. The Committee to Protect Journalists called the measure part of a “spiraling press freedom crisis” and urged Kyrgyzstan’s international partners, including the European Union, to hold the country accountable. Jeanne Cavelier, Reporters Without Borders’ Eastern Europe and Central Asia director, described the April TV case as “emblematic of a broader assault on the media.”

In response to the growing wave of closures, a coalition of Kyrgyz journalists and civil society groups has denounced what it sees as the criminalization of public interest journalism. Statements from the Media Action Platform and other domestic press associations have called on the authorities to reverse course, arguing that dismantling independent media undermines both Kyrgyzstan’s democratic institutions and its international credibility.

The forced closure of April TV marks the latest instalment in a dramatic shift in Kyrgyzstan’s once-diverse media environment. Japarov and his administration have denied that the closures amount to censorship. In a social media post earlier this year, the president stated that “freedom of speech has always been and will be [upheld] in Kyrgyzstan” while stressing that falsehoods and incitement should not be confused with journalism.