Kyrgyzstan authorities should immediately drop charges against current and former Temirov Live staff, release all eight detained journalists, and reverse its crackdown on the independent press. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in a statement.
On Tuesday, the Pervomaisky District Court of Bishkek, extended by two months the pre-trial detention of Temirov Live director Makhabat Tazhibek kyzy and the outlet’s current and former staff members Aike Beishekeeva, Azamat Ishenbekov, Saipidin Sultanaliev, Aktilek Kaparov, Tynystan Asypbekov, Zhoodar Buzumov, and Maksat Tazhibek uulu,
The court also ordered Temirov Live journalist Sapar Akunbekov and camera operator Akyl Orozbekov released into house arrest and freed the outlet’s former project manager Zhumabek Turdaliev under a travel ban.
All 11 continue to face charges of inciting mass unrest, which carries a jail sentence of up to eight years under Article 278, Part 3, of Kyrgyzstan’s Criminal Code.
«The mass detention of journalists linked to investigative outlet Temirov Live is emblematic of Kyrgyzstan’s intensifying press freedom crisis,» said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, in New York. «By extending their incarceration, the country’s authorities are signalling their intention to continue this repressive course.»
On January 16, the office of Temirov Live was searched and editorial equipment was confiscated. The police searched homes and detained 11 current and former employees of the media outlet.
The Interior Ministry issued a statement announcing that, as a result of «forensic linguistic examination» of content found on the social media pages of Temirov Live and Ait Ait Dese on December 30, criminal proceedings had been initiated against them under article 278, part 3 of the Criminal Code for «calling for riots.»
Makhabat Tazhibek kyzy, Sapar Akunbekov, Azamat Ishenbekov, Saipidin Sultanaliev, Aktilek Kaparov, Tynystan Asypbekov, Maksat Tazhibek uulu, Zhoodar Buzumov, Zhumabek Turdaliev, Aike Beishekeeva and Akyl Orozbekov were detained.
They were kept in the Bishkek pretrial detention center 1 until March 13.
