KYRGYZSTAN JAILS TWO JOURNALISTS FOR FIVE YEARS OVER ALLEGED INCITEMENT
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A court in Kyrgyzstan has sentenced two cameramen from the independent investigative outlet Kloop to five years in prison on charges of attempting to incite mass unrest and disobedience against state agents.
The ruling, delivered on Wednesday and obtained by AFP, has drawn renewed criticism from rights and press freedom groups who accuse the government of intensifying its crackdown on media and civil society.
Kyrgyzstan, often regarded as the most democratic of the former Soviet republics in Central Asia, has in recent years faced growing scrutiny for restrictions on independent journalism. Kloop, funded largely by private Western donors, was banned last year for what authorities described as “strong criticism of the government,” but has continued operating.
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The two convicted cameramen, born in 1997 and 2002, admitted guilt during trial proceedings but later claimed their confessions were coerced. A video of the hearing released by Kloop showed them alleging they signed statements under duress.
According to the indictment, prosecutors argued that Kloop sought to discredit President Sadyr Japarov, who has previously accused the outlet of “only bringing harm to Kyrgyzstan.” Authorities also linked the outlet to Bolot Temirov, a prominent exiled journalist whose YouTube investigations into corruption have made him a persistent critic of the government. Kloop, however, insisted the cameramen were not involved in Temirov’s work, while the journalist himself confirmed he produced the videos independently.
In June, Reporters Without Borders condemned what it described as the “shameful methods” being deployed by Kyrgyz authorities to silence Kloop journalists.
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