Amnesty International on May 29 accused Kyrgyzstan of using its security apparatus to “crush dissent and dismantle independent journalism” after the detention of six current and former employees of independent media outlet Kloop Media.

The rights organisation's director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said: “The detention of Kloop journalists is yet another stark example of how Kyrgyzstan’s security apparatus is being used to crush dissent and dismantle independent journalism. These actions are clearly intended to intimidate critical voices.”

Kloop is a partner of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) global network of investigative journalists.

Responding to the detentions and security service raids on Kloop, the OCCRP said that investigative reporter Bolot Temirov, who was stripped of his Kyrgyz citizenship and forced into exile in 2022, “seems to be back in the focus of Kyrgyz authorities”.

That conclusion was drawn because, although the State Committee for National Security (GKNB) had not issued an official statement on the employees taken in for questioning, the head of Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov’s press service, Daiyrbek Orunbekov, claimed on Facebook that the journalists were under investigation for allegedly assisting Temirov. According to Orunbekov, Temirov paid the journalists to conduct “false investigations”.

Orunbekov further claimed that the detained journalists admitted to “carrying out Temirov’s illegal instructions” and had “refused to cooperate with him further,” adding that they confessed to “spreading false information and writing hit pieces against the state.”

Both Temirov—who in late 2023 claimed from his secret address somewhere in Europe that “sources have told me that an order has been issued to harm my physical integrity”—and Kloop founder Rinat Tukhvatshin were cited by the OCCRP as calling the claims lies. 

“They’re trying to fabricate a case to suit this person’s sick fantasies,” Temirov was reported as saying, referring to Orunbekov. “I don’t even know most of those journalists.”

“All detained reporters are Kloop journalists or their friends. As far as I know, they never worked with Bolot,” Tukhvatshin added.

Media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned the detentions, calling them illegal and demanding the immediate release of the journalists.

The OCCRP said the arrests began on May 28 when GKNB agents raided the home of journalist Zyyagul Bolot kyzy in Osh and took her into custody. Cameraman Aleksandr Aleksandrov was detained in Bishkek a few hours later. Journalist Aiday Erkebaeva was also brought in for questioning in the capital, along with former Kloop journalists Zara Sydygalieva and Joomart Duulatov. On May 19, social media specialist Abdil Torobaev was taken into custody.

None of the detainees had access to legal counsel during questioning, said the OCCRP.

“These actions are a gross violation of the Criminal Procedure Code and human rights. People are being held virtually incommunicado, without even the chance to make a phone call. This goes beyond detention — it’s an abduction,” said Tukhvatshin.

Kloop’s lawyer, Bakyt Avtandil, also criticised the GKNB’s conduct.

“Neither the accused nor their relatives were given copies of the search reports, warrants, or court authorisations. We believe these were emergency searches, which by law must be justified before an investigative judge,” he said.

The GKNB claimed legal representation wasn’t necessary during what they called “personal conversations” with the suspects, Avtandil said, adding: “We consider this a serious violation. I was denied access to my clients for more than six hours.”