Investigative reporter Bolot Temirov—deported from Kyrgyzstan to Russia in what rights defenders say was a flagrant violation of deportation procedures in November last year—has informed Reporters Without Borders (RSF): “My sources have told me that an order has been issued to harm my physical integrity.”

RSF referred to the anxieties of Temirov—whose plight was described on November 13 by a bne IntelliNews article on Kyrgyzstan’s dismantling of its celebrated independent media—as, on November 22, the watchdog called on Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov to put an end to the pressure on the journalist and restore his Kyrgyz nationality.

Said RSF: “A year after his illegal expulsion to Russia, the investigative journalist is living under the threat of attacks from the Kyrgyz authorities who, in addition to stripping him of his nationality, have had the accounts feeding his channel [YouTube programme Temirov Live] blocked.”

Temirov, it added, was now living in a secret location somewhere in Europe, where he obtained refuge in March, but threats and harassment were still being directed at him by the Kyrgyz authorities.

RSF added: “In addition to the physical threats, Temirov’s financial resources are being restricted by M-Bank, a Kyrgyz bank run by Omurbek Babanov, a former prime minister reportedly close to the Kyrgyz intelligence agency chief who was the subject of a sensational investigative report by Temirov prior to his expulsion.

“Two of the accounts created to receive donations to the Temirov Live YouTube channel have been closed one after the other. The first, in the name of an association openly intended to fund this media outlet, was closed in December 2022 without any warning or reason being given. The second one, in his wife’s name, was blocked last month, shortly after its creation and just one day after a Facebook post invited supporters to use it to donate to the YouTube channel.”

Jeanne Cavelier, head of RSF’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk, said: “Bolot Temirov was stripped of his nationality after revealing corruption scandals within the Kyrgyz elites. The attacks and threats to which he and his work continue to be subjected prove that the authorities, up to the highest levels of government, seem more bent on persecuting a journalist than defending the country’s interests.

“We urge President Japarov to put an end to this absurd situation by returning Temirov’s identity papers and allowing him to carry out his investigative reporting unmolested.”

In a bid to recover his Kyrgyz nationality, Temirov plans to file a complaint with the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

In response to threats, said RSF, Temirov has placed copies of data gathered in the course of his ongoing investigations in a virtual safe managed by Forbidden Stories, a Paris-based NGO that defends threatened journalists, so that other journalists can take up his investigations if he is killed or incapacitated.

Independent media are increasingly persecuted in Kyrgyzstan, said RSF, adding that this meant the country was “no longer a press freedom exception in Central Asia”. The Japarov administration is bringing in a “foreign agents” law based on Russian legislation that will, RSF said, make the climate for journalists in Krgyzstan even more oppressive.

The targets of government harassment include Kloop, a Kyrgyz website specialising in investigative reporting, noted RSF. Its Russian version has been blocked since September and its Kyrgyz version since earlier this month. The prosecutor’s office is attempting to shut it down. 

Kyrgyzstan is ranked 122nd out of 180 countries in RSF's 2023 World Press Freedom Index.