“A punitive decision to intimidate journalists”: Bolot Temirov hits back in court in Bishkek

After an almost year-long trial, the Lenin District Court in Bishkek convicted journalists Makhabat Tazhibek Kyzy and Azamat Ishenbekov from the Temirov Live project. Both were convicted of inciting “mass unrest”; A verdict that the founder of the media project, Bolot Temirov, sees as revenge for his professional activity.

According to the court verdict, Makhabat Tazhibek Kyzy (head of Temirov Live) was sentenced to six years in prison, and journalist Azamat Ishenbekov was sentenced to five years in prison. Two journalists, Aktilek Kaparov and Ayka Beishenalieva, were sentenced to three years probation, while the remaining seven project employees were acquitted.

On January 16, 2024, police forces searched Temirov Live’s office and confiscated all editorial equipment in the interest of the investigation. Eleven employees of the publication were searched and arrested. Later, the Kyrgyz Interior Ministry said it had examined the content of Temirov Live and Ait Ait Dese on social networks and the results of the forensic investigation revealed that the publications’ employees had called for mass riots. A criminal case was initiated under Article 278 of the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic, which contains “calls for active disobedience to the lawful demands of deputies and mass unrest.” Two months later, most of those involved in the trial were released under house arrest, while four journalists remained in custody.

In an interview with the state-run Kabar news agency, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov said that two of the 11 defendants were professional journalists, but stressed that “the others should only have education up to the 11th grade.” How can one deny that they were paid some money for spreading false messages on social networks that incited unrest? Once again, false information inciting unrest is not free speech.”

The journalists’ detention had previously been criticized by the UN human rights office and other international organizations.

Bolot Temirov, husband of convicted journalist Makhabat Tazhibek Kyzy and founder of the Temirov Live project, whom the Kyrgyz authorities expelled from the country in 2022 and revoked his Kyrgyz citizenship, told The Times of Central Asia that he disagreed with the court’s verdict. He claimed that the decision was political in nature and that his wife was sentenced only to blackmail him: “This is a punitive decision to scare journalists and our citizens.” I see (the court’s verdict) as revenge against me personally …. Why were some convicted and others not? I have no idea what’s going on in their heads. There is no uniform offense based on the law. There was no call for mass unrest, disobedience to authorities or violence against citizens.”

Temirov said he was particularly shocked by the harsh sentence imposed on his wife and by the court’s refusal to grant a reprieve until his 12-year-old son came of age. The Leninsky Court in Bishkek ruled that the child must be handed over to the guardianship authorities and sent to an orphanage. According to Temirov, the court should have appointed him as guardian, since no one deprived him of parental rights, or, alternatively, appointed the boy’s grandmother as guardian.