Two cameramen who worked for Kloop—one of the last independent news outlets in Kyrgyzstan—remain in custody two weeks after security services conducted raids targeting seven media professionals linked to the outlet. The arrests were carried out without a warrant or legal justification. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is calling on Kyrgyz authorities to immediately release cameramen Alexander Alexandrov and Zhoomart Duulatov.
According to Rinat Tukhvatshin, co-founder of Kloop, a news site recognized for its investigative journalism, these actions amount to “abductions.” He has denounced the illegality of the arrests of seven media professionals connected to the independent investigative outlet on May 28 and 29, during raids on their homes that involved multiple violations of the Criminal Code. The arrested individuals were missing for several hours and were not allowed to contact relatives or lawyers.
Two of them are still being held. Charged with “inciting mass riots,” cameramen Alexander Alexandrov and Zhoomart Duulatov—the latter no longer employed by Kloop—were placed in pre-trial detention following a closed-door hearing on May 30. Three of the five journalists released without charges are, like the detained cameramen, accused of having received financing from investigative journalist Bolot Temirov, a critic of the Kyrgyz authorities who has been living in exile since his expulsion from the country in 2022 following an unfair trial.
On May 29, the head of the presidential administration’s press service stated on Facebook that Bolot Temirov had financed “these young people with grants provided by his Western partners, gave them money, had them produce fake investigations and carry out special assignments.” These statements, aimed at discrediting the work of the targeted media professionals, were firmly denied by Rinat Tukhvatshin.
Authorities’ Methods Called Shameful
“Procedural violations, unjustified seizures, forced confessions, defamation, and smear campaigns—all these shameful methods are being used by the Kyrgyz authorities to silence Kloop’s journalists, and they must come to an end,” said Jeanne Cavelier, Head of the RSF Eastern Europe and Central Asia Desk. “RSF strongly condemns this attempt to intimidate independent journalists and calls on President Sadyr Japarov to immediately release Alexander Alexandrov and Zhoomart Duulatov.”
The raids targeting media professionals linked to Kloop began on May 28 at the home of journalist Zyyagul Bolot kyzy in Osh, a city in southern Kyrgyzstan. Agents from the State Committee for National Security forcibly transported her to Bishkek, the capital. Cameramen Aleksandr Aleksandrov and Zhoomart Duulatov, along with journalists Aidai Erkebaeva and Zara Sydygalieva, were arrested the same day. The following day, two other media professionals, Abdil Aitbay Tegin and Symbat Baimurzayeva, were taken in for questioning.
All of these news professionals were denied the right to contact a lawyer or relatives. Five journalists released after lengthy interrogations are now bound by a non-disclosure agreement preventing them from revealing what took place. According to Kloop, four of them were forced to make “apologies” on camera, recorded by law enforcement. The mobile phones, work computers, and microphones seized during the warrantless searches remain in the custody of the security agency.
Kloop’s newsroom has faced pressure for several years due to its investigations into power circles, particularly on corruption cases. Although authorities attempted to shut down the outlet in May 2024, it continues to inform its audience. The arrests and subsequent convictions of journalists from Temirov Live and Ait Ait Dese, the trial against the April TV channel, and the repressive “foreign agents” law—modeled on Russian legislation—all reflect how the authorities have established a climate of widespread repression of the media in the country.
