Authorities of Kyrgyzstan should immediately and credibly investigate claims that police planted drugs on journalist Bolot Temirov and ensure that employees at his news outlet can work freely. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in a statement.
Police officers accompanied by special forces soldiers came to Temirov Live office in Bishkek on January 22. They detained Bolot Temirov and took him to the capital’s Department of Internal Affairs.
It became known that, along with Bolot Temirov, his colleague Bolot Nazarov was also detained. Both were released on their own recognizance not to leave the city.
According to Bolot Temirov, during the raid the police forced male staff members to the ground and put a bag of drugs into his back pocket while pinning him down. The journalist’s wife, Makhabat Tazhibek kyzy, who was at the scene, told CPJ that she saw officers plant drugs on her husband.
«The dubious drug charge brought against Kyrgyz journalist Bolot Temirov, mere days after he released an investigation into a leading state official, reeks of retaliation for his work,» said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia Program coordinator. «Authorities must seriously investigate allegations that police planted drugs on Temirov and ensure that members of the press can cover sensitive topics without fear of harassment.»
If convicted of drug possession, Temirov could face a fine of up to 200,000 som ($2,360) or up to five years in prison under Kyrgyzstan’s criminal code.
Two days before his arrest, Temirov published a video investigation alleging that family members of State Committee for National Security head Kamchybek Tashiev were involved in a corruption scheme relating to a state-owned petroleum refinery.
On the evening of January 22, Bishkek police also arrested Kyrgyz folk singer Bolot Nazarov. Nazarov contributes to Temirov Live’s investigative work and publishes folk songs about the outlet’s investigations on the channel Ayt Ayt Dese.
