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Justice

Kyrgyz Blogger Jailed for Inciting Ethnic Hatred

A video blogger from the Jalal-Abad region of Kyrgyzstan has been sentenced to two years in prison for inciting ethnic hatred and propaganda related to the war in the Middle East after the Supreme Court upheld the verdict of a lower court. According to information provided by Turmush, the blogger's name was not disclosed. The charges were brought under Part 1, Article 330 of the Criminal Code of Kyrgyzstan. The man ran a video channel with an audience of about 400,000 subscribers, where he posted religious instructions and supported the Yakyn Inkar organization, which is banned in the country. In addition, his channel published materials stoking hatred in the Middle East. In particular, on November 1, 2023, he posted an interview with the head of a political party of the Jogorku Kenesh, who made statements calling for violence and the destruction of a specific nationality. The case was classified by the National Security Committee. The detention of the blogger took place on November 25, 2023, and the trial took place on March 27, 2024, in the Pervomaisky District Court of Bishkek. The defense argued that the materials published did not violate the law, but the Supreme Court left the regional court's decision unchanged. Based on the conclusions of experts and reports from staff of the 4th Main Department of the SCNS, the court ruled that the blogger's publications provoked an increase in harmful and radical comments. There have been several cases in Kyrgyzstan involving charges of inciting ethnic and religious hatred. In August 2023, blogger Aizhan Myrsan was fined for posting what the court deemed to be incitement to ethnic hatred. Her lawyers insisted that the video had been taken out of context and edited, but the court upheld the decision. Another famous case is that of Omurbek Babanov, a politician who was accused of inciting ethnic hatred after a speech he delivered in 2017. His remarks at a meeting with voters became the subject of court proceedings, where experts interpreted them as potential calls for violence.

Mass Media

“A Punitive Decision To Scare Journalists”: Bolot Temirov Hits Back at Bishkek Court

After almost a year of proceedings, the Lenin District Court in Bishkek has convicted journalists Makhabat Tazhibek Kyzy and Azamat Ishenbekov of the Temirov Live project. Both were sentenced for calling for "mass disorder;" a verdict which the media project founder, Bolot Temirov, considers revenge for their professional activities. According to the court ruling, Makhabat Tazhibek Kyzy (head of Temirov Live) was sentenced to six years in prison, and journalist Azamat Ishenbekov, to five years. Two journalists, Aktilek Kaparov and Ayka Beishenalieva, were sentenced to three years of probation, whilst the remaining seven project employees were acquitted. On January 16, 2024, law enforcers searched the office of Temirov Live and seized all editorial equipment in the interest of the investigation. Eleven employees of the publication were searched and detained. Later, the Kyrgyz Interior Ministry said they had studied Temirov Live and Ait Ait Dese's content on social networks and that results of the forensic examination had shown that the employees of the editions had called for mass riots. A criminal case was initiated under Article 278 of the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic, “Calls for active disobedience to the lawful demands of representatives and mass disorder.” Two months later, most of the participants in the trial were released under house arrest, leaving four journalists in detention. In an interview with the state news agency Kabar, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov said two of the eleven defendants were professional journalists but emphasized that the “others are said to have education only to an 11th-grade level. How can you deny they were paid some money to sit on social networks and spread false messages calling for unrest? Once again, false information calling for unrest is not freedom of speech." The detention of the journalists had been earlier criticized by the UN Human Rights Office and other international organizations. Bolot Temirov, husband of convicted journalist Makhabat Tazhibek Kyzy and founder of the Temirov Live project, whom Kyrgyz authorities expelled from the country in 2022 and stripped of his Kyrgyz citizenship, told The Times of Central Asia that he disagreed with the court's verdict. He claimed the decision was political and that his wife was convicted only to blackmail him: “This is a punitive decision to scare journalists and our citizens. I regard (the court's verdict) as revenge against me personally.... Why were some convicted and others not? I have no idea what's going on in their heads. Based on the law, there is no single offense. There was no call for mass riots, disobedience to the authorities, or any violence against citizens." Temirov said he was especially shocked by the harsh sentence served on his wife, and the court's refusal to grant a reprieve until his 12-year-old son came of age. The Bishkek Leninsky Court ruled that the child be handed over to the guardianship authorities and transferred to an orphanage. According to Temirov, the court should have appointed him as guardian since no one had deprived him of parental rights, or alternatively,...

Media Freedom

UN Rights Body Criticizes Prison Sentences for Kyrgyz Journalists

The human rights office of the United Nations and other international groups are expressing concern that two journalists in Kyrgyzstan were convicted of inciting mass unrest and sentenced to years in prison. Journalists Azamat Ishenbekov and Makhabat Tazhibek kyzy of the Temirov Live media outlet were sentenced on Thursday to five and six years in jail respectively and plan to appeal. Two other media workers in the same case were placed on three years’ probation and released. Another seven were acquitted. The investigation and trial were “marred by due process and fair trial concerns” and Kyrgyz authorities should review the cases of those who were sentenced, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement on Friday. “While seven others were acquitted, it is problematic that 11 journalists and media workers, all former or current staff of the investigative outlet Temirov Live, were arbitrarily arrested and detained for simply doing their job,” the U.N. human rights office said. “We urge the authorities to review vague provisions of the Criminal Code that expose journalists and others to potential liability for exercise of their fundamental rights, including freedom of expression.” The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said the prison terms amounted to retaliation for reporting on alleged corruption and that “Kyrgyzstan has forfeited its reputation as a relative haven of press freedom in Central Asia.” Top officials in Kyrgyzstan have previously dismissed such international criticism, saying the case against the workers affiliated with Temirov Live was not politically motivated and that the people being prosecuted were masquerading as journalists and publishing false information. Temirov Live is a YouTube-based outlet that has broadcast reports on alleged graft at high levels of government. It was founded in 2020 by Bolot Temirov, who was expelled from Kyrgyzstan in 2022. His wife is Tazhibek kyzy, director of Temirov Live and one of the two journalists who was sentenced to jail last week.

Media Freedom

Freedom of Speech in Tajikistan Discussed at OSCE Conference

The deteriorating situation for journalists and freedom of speech in Tajikistan was discussed at the plenary session of the OSCE Human Dimension Conference in Warsaw on October 2. Participants, including human rights defenders and civil society representatives, noted that arrests of journalists have become a common practice in the country. Some face harassment even outside Tajikistan. Gulnoza Said, program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists in Europe and Central Asia, said the situation with human rights and freedom of expression has reached a critical point. She said eight journalists, including Ulfatkhonim Mamadshoeva, Daler Imomali, and Khushruz Dzhumayev, are currently in Tajik prisons. Said also emphasized that the sentences handed down to the journalists are incredibly harsh, ranging from seven to 20 years in prison. Muhammadjon Kabirov, editor-in-chief of Azda TV, broadcasting from Poland, noted that Tajikistan ranks 155th on the World Freedom of Expression Index, and its authorities have created a hostile environment for the media. Kabirov also recalled the transnational repression directed against journalists abroad. In his speech, he cited the conviction of journalists such as Hikmatullo Sayfullozoda and Abdukahor Davlat, who were sentenced to long prison terms in 2015. A recent example of pressure on the independent press was the arrest of the editor-in-chief of Pike, Ahmadi Ibrohim, who has been charged with bribery and is awaiting trial. The conference also raised the issue of Tajik authorities harassing journalists and their relatives to force them to stop their activities. Interestingly, although Tajikistan had previously taken an active part in such discussions, there were no representatives of Tajikistan at this year's event. International organizations have repeatedly criticized the situation with freedom of speech in Tajikistan. Organizations such as Amnesty International and Freedom House report the constant harassment of journalists, independent media, and activists. Opposition media outlets are banned in the country, and journalists face arrests and long prison terms on charges that human rights activists call trumped-up.

Media Freedom

Kyrgyzstan Closes Kloop; Media Outlet Says Work Will Go On

Amid concerns that media freedoms in Kyrgyzstan are shrinking, President Sadyr Japarov has suggested that the closure of Kloop Media, a Kyrgyz foundation that runs an investigative news organization, was a blow against “anarchy” and false information rather than freedom of speech. Japarov offered his contested vision of what constitutes responsible media coverage in an interview published on Tuesday by the state news agency Kabar, which asked for his reaction to a reported ruling by Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Court that upheld the liquidation of Kloop Media after a yearlong court battle. “Doesn't the closure of this media have a negative impact on the freedom of expression in the country?” Kabar director Mederbek Shermetaliev asked Japarov. “Nothing. For 30 years, we have replaced anarchy with democracy and gossip with freedom of speech. Now the community is recovering from those diseases,” Japarov replied. “We have had and will have freedom of speech. We will support anyone as long as they tell the truth. Anarchy, spreading rumors and false information is not freedom of speech.” The president’s emphasis on stability and regulated expression is a shift from the more freewheeling environment of past years in Kyrgyzstan, which had a reputation as one of the more open – as well as turbulent - societies in Central Asia. Japarov, who came to power during a period of political upheaval in 2020, has dismissed criticism that his government is creeping toward authoritarianism. Last week, Kloop Media said it had learned that the Supreme Court’s panel of judges for civil and economic cases decided on July 16 to uphold the foundation’s liquidation, indicating the court had remained silent about the ruling until foundation lawyers were informed on Aug. 22. It said the closure of Kloop’s bank accounts could begin soon, but said the number of its online visitors had grown and that work would continue to be published on the internet. "And as long as at least one Kyrgyzstani reads us, we will continue to publish the most in-depth investigations, the most balanced news, and the most incisive columns," Kloop co-founder Rinat Tukhvatshin said. Prosecutors had argued that Kloop’s charter did not allow it to engage in journalism, while also drawing attention to reporting that they described as negative. Kloop has won a number of international media awards for investigations into government corruption, election violations and other sensitive topics. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists has condemned the moves to shutter Kloop, saying it was a “shameful episode” that showed Kyrgyzstan had lost its reputation “as a haven for press freedom in Central Asia.” In the Kabar interview, Japarov was asked what he thinks about investigative journalism. “We support all those investigating, no matter who they are. The only request is to double-check,” Japarov said. But investigating “with bias, slander, hostility, and personal interest” is not freedom of speech, he said. Kloop published a just-the-facts story about the president’s remarks with the headline: “Sadyr Japarov: Liquidation of Kloop Media will not affect freedom of speech in Kyrgyzstan.”

Freedom of Speech

Kyrgyzstan’s Culture Ministry Wants to Fine People for Spreading “Disinformation” Online

Kyrgyzstan's Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports, and Youth Policy has proposed issuing fines to people who promote 'disinformation' online. According to the proposed amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses, citizens who are found to have spread false information through media, websites, or social networks could be fined up to 100,000 KGS (about $1,200). For legal entities, the amount will be 200,000 KGS (about $2,400). The ministry emphasized that in recent years there has been an increase in cases where false information on the internet has led to conflicts and a deterioration in public sentiment. However, this has sparked debate in society and among human rights activists, who fear that such measures could limit freedom of expression and lead to the control of journalists and internet users. The ministry had previously proposed other amendments, which would allow fines to be imposed for libel and slander in the media and online.