International organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the deportation of investigative journalist Bolot Temirov and calls on the Kyrgyz authorities to put an end to the growing attacks on the media in the country.
«Bolot Temirov was sent to Russia by force with no belongings, no phone, no money or international passport, and in violation of deportation procedures,» said Jeanne Cavelier, the head of RSF’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk. «This journalist, who is shortlisted for the next RSF prize and has been harassed for months, had announced his intention to bring a defamation suit against President Sadyr Japarov and the head of the Kyrgyz State Committee for National Security. You cannot deny a journalist’s nationality in order to get rid of them! RSF calls on the authorities to return his Kyrgyz and Russian passports and to put a stop to their attacks on independent media.»
As the organization notes, Kyrgyzstan had until recently been seen as an exception in Central Asia because of its relative respect for press freedom. But Temirov’s expulsion follows signs of a turn towards a more authoritarian approach, with several cases of independent media being harassed in recent months.
Bolot Temirov was expelled from the country by court decision on November 23. Immediately after the trial, where the verdict was announced, he was taken by force, accompanied by law enforcement officers, to the airport and sent by plane to Russia.
