Kyrgyzstan declares outlets Kloop and Temirov Live ‘extremist’ in unprecedented crackdown

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published last month |  JP Global Monitoring/CPJ

A Bishkek court has branded investigative media outlets Kloop and Temirov Live as “extremist,” banning their work and sparking global alarm over Kyrgyzstan’s worsening crackdown on press freedom.

Summary

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — In an unprecedented move, a Bishkek court has declared the independent media outlets Kloop and Temirov Live, along with their founders Bolot Temirov and Rinat Tuhvatshin, as “extremist.” This marks the first time in Kyrgyzstan’s history that media organizations have been given such a designation.

The ruling bans the outlets, as well as Temirov Live’s sister project Ait Ait Dese. The October 27 decision by the District Court effectively bans the outlets from publishing online and criminalizes the sharing or endorsement of their content. According to Kloop.kg, even liking or commenting on their posts could now be interpreted as supporting extremist material.

The court’s ruling was made without the knowledge or participation of the outlets’ representatives, who learned of the verdict through social media posts by supporters of the State Committee for National Security (GKNB) head, Otkurbek Rakhmanov.

“This is another round of repression, which will hit not only us but the entire country,” said Rinat Tuhvatshin, Kloop’s co-founder. “The process was held in absentia, and we only received confirmation from the court today. These actions prove the importance of our work.”

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) strongly condemned the decision and urged authorities to reverse it. “Kyrgyzstan’s designation of international award-winning investigative outlets Kloop and Temirov Live, and their founders, as ‘extremist’ is a shocking and desperate attempt to stifle anti-corruption reporting,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “This shows how far Kyrgyzstan has fallen under President Japarov from its former status as a press freedom haven.”

Temirov Live and Kloop, partners of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), are known for exposing alleged corruption involving senior officials, including President Sadyr Japarov. Both outlets have operated from exile since 2022 as authorities intensified their crackdown on independent media.

Bolot Temirov, a 2025 CPJ International Press Freedom Award recipient, was deported in 2022 after police allegedly planted drugs on him during a raid. His wife and Temirov Live director, Makhabat Tajibek kyzy, is serving a six-year prison sentence.

Over the past two years, authorities have blocked Kloop’s website, ordered its closure, and arrested nearly a dozen of its journalists. Two camera operators, Aleksandr Aleksandrov and Joomart Duulatov, are currently serving five-year prison sentences.

Despite the risks, Kloop and Temirov Live have urged supporters to continue reading their reports and watching their videos to the end, a digital act of defiance that helps algorithms keep their work visible.

Photo caption: Kyrgyzstan has labeled CPJ’s 2025 International Press Freedom Award winner Bolot Temirov as “extremist” in an attempt to stifle anticorruption reporting into the top echelons of Kyrgyzstan’s government. (Photo: Courtesy of Bolot Temirov)