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.
