Kyrgyzstan has banned three leading independent media outlets as “extremist organisations”.

It is an unprecedented move for the country of 7.3mn that only a few years ago was still widely regarded as something of an “island” of democratic freedoms in Central Asia, boasting a celebrated vibrant press.

The move comes just weeks before snap parliamentary elections scheduled for November 30. Critics will see it as further confirmation that the populist-nationalist president of five years, Sadyr Japarov, is determined to run a state marked by suffocating authoritarian controls. Japarov, and the leaders of the other four Central Asian countries, are due to meet US President Donald Trump in the US on November 6 at a “C5+1” summit.

Under a court decision announced on October 28, the Kloop, Temirov Live and AitAit Dese (“Voice of the People”) outlets’ websites are outlawed. The online publications are known for their investigations into corruption.

Also prohibited are any activities "under the leadership or participation" of journalists Bolot Temirov – who, in November 2022, was deported from Kyrgyzstan after a court invalidated his passport – and Rinat Tukhvatshin, who head up Kloop and Temirov Live, respectively. Like Temirov, Tukhvatshin is currently abroad, according to Azattyk.

"This is another round of repression that will not only affect us but also damage Kyrgyzstan's reputation and criminalize many uninvolved people," Kloop co-founder Rinat Tukhvatshin said in a post on Telegram. He added that he intended to appeal.

The ruling, issued by Oktyabr District Court in the capital Bishkek, did not specify which materials from the three organisations were regarded as extremist.

Reuters reported Tukhvatshin as saying the defendants were not informed about the case beforehand and learned of the ruling via social media.

In August, Japarov signed a new media law. It compels all media, including online platforms, to register with authorities.

Japarov, who has denied claims of authoritarianism, lately remarked that he believes that in 2027 he will win re-election with 90% of the vote.

The director of Temirov Live projects is Mahabat Tazhibek Kyzy, the wife of Bolot Temirov. She is presently in custody. A year ago, a court found her guilty of "inciting mass disorder".

Azattyk on October 28 reported Tukhvatshin as saying:"This is another round of repression, which, unfortunately, will impact not only us [accused] but all of Kyrgyzstan—both reputationally and in terms of the criminalisation of a huge number of innocent people. We continue our work; these actions by the authorities clearly demonstrate that we're doing the right thing."

Temirov, who was deported to Russia but currently lives in Europe, was quoted as saying: "This step will have the opposite effect and will not stop our work in any way. Many people write to me and wonder why so much effort is being directed at me and our media? I'm a simple journalist and not a significant political or other figure. This will have negative consequences for the president, his reputation, and the country as a whole. When extraditing real extremists and terrorists from other countries, this precedent will be taken into account, as will the fact that law enforcement agencies and courts in Kyrgyzstan are using laws for political persecution."

He added that there was not even a hint of extremism in his work, saying: "Journalism is not a crime."

Kloop, which was launched in 2007, was blocked by a court order in September 2023 after the editorial staff refused to comply with a culture ministry demand to remove an article. At the same time, it was subjected to a prosecutor’s lawsuit and a State Committee for National Security (GKNB) investigation that said it published "materials that are aimed at sharply criticising the current government's policies, and the majority of its published materials are purely negative in nature, aimed at discrediting representatives of state and municipal authorities".

The prosecutor's office requested the court liquidate the media outlet’s owner, public foundation Kloop Media. A series of court cases followed and in August 2024, following an unfavourable Supreme Court decision, Kloop Media ceased operations in Kyrgyzstan – but it has continued to operate, and published Kloop materials remain accessible to audiences in Kyrgyzstan via social media.

In 2025, former and current Kloop employees were detained. Law enforcement officers pursued charges of “incitement to mass unrest.” Two staff members received five-year prison sentences and two received probationary suspended sentences.

Kyrgyzstan dropped more than 50 places in the Reporters Without Borders’ 2024 Press Freedom Index. Freedom House, Amnesty International and other watchdogs have documented a stark decline in the country’s media freedom.