Kyrgyzstan, once regarded as the only democracy in post-Soviet Central Asia, is witnessing a new wave of repression targeting journalists. The State Committee for National Security (SCNS), which reports directly to First Deputy Prime Minister Kamchybek Tashiev, has begun detaining both current and former staff members of the independent media outlet Kloop.kg.
On May 28, SCNS agents arrived at the home of 26-year-old Kloop journalist Ziyagul Bolot kyzy in the city of Osh. At the time, only her younger sister was with her. The agents confiscated Ziyagul’s laptop and phone, removed her from the house, transported her to Osh airport, and flew her to the capital, Bishkek, where the SCNS headquarters is located. No reason was given for her detention.
That same day in Bishkek, SCNS agents conducted a search at the home of 28-year-old Kloop videographer Aleksander Aleksandrov. He and all his electronic devices were also taken to the SCNS headquarters. Again, no explanation was provided.
Similarly, colleagues and relatives learned by chance that 26-year-old Kloop journalist Aiday Erkebaeva had been detained. She was taken from her rented apartment along with a visiting friend. The agents offered no justification for the arrest.
It also emerged that 23-year-old Joomart Duulatov, a former Kloop journalist, had been detained and brought to the SCNS along with his friend Ayana Kasymalieva. Their electronic devices were seized, and no official reason for his arrest was disclosed.
Later that day, 25-year-old Zara Sadygalieva — another former Kloop employee who left the outlet in 2023 — was also detained without explanation, and her devices were taken as well.
All seven individuals were interrogated throughout the day. Meanwhile, lawyers, colleagues, and family members stood outside the SCNS building in Bishkek, awaiting information. Despite their presence, investigators refused to grant lawyers access to the detainees — a blatant violation of Kyrgyzstan’s Criminal Procedure Code and detainees’ legal rights. Neither the reasons for the arrests nor the legal status of the detainees was disclosed to the legal representatives.
That evening, one of the lawyers, Bakyt Avtandil, condemned the interrogations without legal counsel. “The investigators told me they couldn’t let me in because they were waiting for orders. We consider this a complete abuse of the law,” he said. Investigators told Avtandil that they were conducting a «preventive conversation» with the detainees.
«But how can it be a preventive conversation when full-scale searches were conducted in their homes?» he questioned.
Avtandil also reported serious procedural violations during the searches: neither the detainees nor their families were given copies of the search warrants, protocols, or court orders, and no forensic analysis was conducted on the seized devices — all of which are required by law. According to the lawyer, the detainees were being questioned in connection with a criminal case for “inciting interethnic hatred.” However, the case was only in its initial investigative phase.
Late at night, after hours of interrogation, five of the detained women — the journalists and their acquaintances — were released. They were questioned as witnesses but were not allowed to retrieve their confiscated gadgets. They remain under gag orders and cannot speak about what occurred during the interrogations.
Two men — videographer Aleksander Aleksandrov and former Kloop journalist Joomart Duulatov — were transferred to the SCNS temporary detention facility. According to their lawyer, they are being held for 48 hours, during which time the Pervomaisky District Court of Bishkek is expected to determine further legal measures. They are reportedly suspected of “calling for mass unrest,” but no specific charges have been announced.
On the morning of May 29, Dairbek Orunbekov, head of the Presidential Administration’s press service, posted on Facebook that the detained journalists and former Kloop staff had received money from investigative journalist Bolot Temirov “through Western grants” and had conducted investigations at his request, allegedly admitting to this during questioning.
“This is false,” Kloop founder Rinat Tuhvatshin responded. “The detained journalists, former Kloop employees, and their friends never worked with Bolot Temirov.”
Temirov himself — who was previously deported from Kyrgyzstan after publishing high-profile corruption investigations — also denied any connection to the detainees and said he does not even know them.
But the crackdown didn’t end there. At 4 p.m. on May 29 in Bishkek, SCNS agents arrived at the home of another Kloop staff member, Abdil Torobaev (also known as Aytbai Tegin). “The police are here,” he managed to report before contact was lost. Relatives later confirmed that he, too, had been taken to the SCNS after a search.
Tuhvatshin emphasized that Torobaev was not involved in journalistic content — he neither wrote articles nor shot videos. “It’s clear the authorities are targeting anyone associated with Kloop, even those not engaged in journalism,” he said. Tuhvatshin described the detentions not as arrests but as abductions.
“Only two people were able to notify us they were being detained. The rest simply disappeared. Through friends and lawyers, we eventually located them at the SCNS. After being detained, none of them were able to contact their families or us. They were interrogated without legal representation,” he said.
Later that same evening, on May 29, reports emerged that another Kloop staff member, Symbat Baimurzayeva, had also been detained. According to Tuhvatshin, she was not involved in producing journalistic content but worked as an office manager. Her detention further underscores the sweeping and indiscriminate nature of the crackdown.
He called the situation a flagrant violation of both the Criminal Procedure Code and basic human rights. “These people are being held incommunicado, without even the chance to make a phone call. That’s why I consider what’s happening not merely a detention, but a kidnapping. Kloop demands immediate legal access for the detainees and a full public explanation of the legal grounds for their arrest.”
Tuhvatshin urged international human rights organizations, embassies, and UN agencies to respond immediately. He also appealed directly to President Sadyr Japarov and SCNS chief and First Deputy Prime Minister Kamchybek Tashiev.
“We understand that you are indifferent to the fate of journalists. But let us be clear: with these actions, the SCNS is completely undermining the idea that justice is possible in Kyrgyzstan,” said Tuhvatshin. “The most basic right of any detainee is access to a lawyer. What you are showing the world is that this right is being trampled in Kyrgyzstan. And that is truly shameful.”
The international organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned the mass arrests and called for the immediate release of the Kloop journalists. RSF noted that the detainees were held without legal grounds and without access to lawyers.
Despite ongoing pressure, Kloop founder Rinat Tuhvatshin reaffirmed the outlet’s commitment to its mission: “Even under repression, we will continue our work — telling the truth.”