- Authorities accuse Kloop journalists of inciting unrest, citing anti-government reporting
- Human rights groups warn of shrinking press freedom under President Sadyr Japarov
What happened: Kyrgyzstan arrests eight kloop journalists in growing media crackdown
Kyrgyzstan’s national security services have detained eight current and former journalists from the independent media outlet Kloop, according to their lawyers. The arrests, carried out on Wednesday and Thursday, followed raids on the journalists’ homes and the seizure of electronic devices. Those detained face charges of inciting mass unrest and defying state officials, which carry sentences of up to 10 years in prison.
The journalists include five current staffers and three former employees. Their legal teams said several were questioned for hours before being released, while others remain in custody without access to lawyers. Kloop co-founder Rinat Tukhvatshin strongly denied the government’s claims, calling them “fabricated” and politically motivated.
The detentions come after Kyrgyz authorities accused Kloop of “spreading false information” and publishing material deemed hostile to the state. Presidential administration head Daiyrbek Orunbekov claimed on social media that the media workers were undermining national stability. The security services have not publicly commented on the arrests.
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Why it is important
The crackdown on Kloop has raised alarm among human rights groups and media watchdogs. Syinat Sultanalieva of Human Rights Watch described the detentions as “yet another example of the Kyrgyzstani authorities’ continued crackdown on freedom of speech and expression”. The organisation has called for the immediate release of the detained journalists.
Kyrgyzstan, once considered the most media-friendly state in Central Asia, has seen a dramatic decline in press freedom since President Sadyr Japarov’s rise to power in 2020. A controversial 2021 law banning “discrediting” the authorities has been used repeatedly to silence independent media and civil society voices. Kloop itself was forced to close last year after the government claimed its NGO publisher lacked proper registration as a media outlet.
Observers say the arrests mark a further erosion of free expression in Kyrgyzstan, where independent journalism is under increasing threat. The latest detentions follow a pattern of state efforts to tighten control over information and suppress dissenting voices.
