International human rights organizations call on Kyrgyz authorities to completely drop the criminal prosecution of journalist Makhabat Tazhibek kyzy following a court decision to release her from custody.
Amnesty International stated that the journalist’s release from prison is a «long-overdue step towards justice» that allows her to reunite with her son, but it does not erase the human rights violations she has already endured and those she faces with possible retrial.
Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director, Marie Struthers, emphasized that Kyrgyzstan’s authorities should immediately drop all charges and lift the travel ban against Makhabat Tazhibek kyzy, and provide her with an effective remedy for the violations she has already suffered.
The organization also noted that the targeting of the journalist and her colleagues from the Temirov Live and Ait Ait Dese projects sends a chilling message to investigative journalists across the country. «No journalist should be prosecuted solely for reporting on matters of public interest. The authorities must abide by Kyrgyzstan’s international human rights obligations and provide a safe environment for independent journalism and ensure full respect for the right to freedom of expression,» the statement reads.
The human rights organization Civil Rights Defenders also welcomed the court’s decision allowing the journalist to return home and reunite with her family, but emphasized the need for her full rehabilitation and the dismissal of all charges.
On October 10, 2024, the Leninsky District Court sentenced the journalist to six years in prison. The decision was later upheld by the Bishkek City Court, and in February 2025, the Supreme Court of the Kyrgyz Republic also confirmed the ruling.
Subsequently, the defense filed a motion to review the case based on newly discovered circumstances. The Supreme Court later decided to send the case back for retrial to the district court.
Previously, international human rights organizations and media representatives had called for a review of the journalist’s sentence.
Makhabat Tazhibek kyzy is a journalist and head of Temirov LIVE project, and the spouse of investigative journalist Bolot Temirov. Together, they worked on anti-corruption investigations that gained wide public attention. Temirov was earlier expelled from Kyrgyzstan and stripped of citizenship.
