Press freedom in Kyrgyzstan is under siege, media watchdogs warned on October 10, as a Bishkek court convicted and sentenced four journalists for “calling for mass riots”.

Responding to what it described as a “dark day for press freedom” in the Central Asian country, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said the court took an “arbitrary decision” that “lacks tangible evidence” at the end of a trial that began in late May.

The convictions come as critics of Kyrgyzstan's Japarov administration point to how an opaque and massive transfer of wealth in the country appears to be ongoing, with the president boasting of "five or six dollar billionaires", the identities of whom are not publicly known.

Makhabat Tazhibek kyzy, Azamat Ishenbekov, Aktilek Kaparov and Ayke Beishekeeva, journalists for the YouTube channels Temirov Live and Ait Ait Dese, were victims of an attempt to “muzzle independent journalism” and should be immediately released, said RSF.

“There is no justice or honesty in this country, everything is dead,” Ishenbekov said in a message posted on Telegram right after the verdict was announced.

The court handed down sentences ranging from three years of probation to six years of imprisonment for four of the 11 investigative journalists brought before a judge for alleged calls for mass violent unrest. The other seven journalists were acquitted of the charge.

Jeanne Cavelier, head of RSF's Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk, said: "This is a critical turning point for the independent press in Kyrgyzstan. The conviction of these four independent, anti-corruption journalists linked to Temirov Live and Ait Ait Dese after an unfair trial marks the Kyrgyz authorities’ blatant shift towards authoritarianism. 

“These journalists are paying a high price for their investigations into the corruption of the ruling elite, in particular within the presidential circle. RSF calls for their immediate release and acquittal due to lack of evidence, which was granted to the seven other journalists prosecuted in this case.”

“The media climate in Kyrgyzstan, once relatively free, has deteriorated significantly due to government raids, arrests of journalists, forced media closure initiatives, and blocking of news sites,” the International Partnership for Human Rights said in an end-of-September briefing. 

A week before the court announced the decisions, Amnesty International called on the government to drop the charges against the 11 journalists, saying: “These charges are nothing more than a politically motivated attempt to stifle free expression and punish journalists for their work.”

The lawyer for Makhabat Tajibek kyzy and Azamat Ishenbekov, sentenced to six and five years' imprisonment respectively, has announced his intention to appeal his clients’ convictions. 

Aktilek Kaparov and Ayke Beishekeeva both received three years of probation.

The criminal case was based on a linguistic analysis of social media posts by Temirov Live and Ait Ait Dese that dated to January 12. However, the expert in Kyrgyz linguistics and literature who was brought in for questioning at the defence’s request found no evidence to confirm the accusations put before him, according to RSF.

RSF also pointed to how Makhabat Tazhibek kyzy, the editor-in-chief of Ait Ait Dese and wife of the founder of Temirov Live, Bolot Temirov, was beaten in her cell by prison guards in April.

Fellow journalist Aktilek Kaparov, it said, arrested despite not having worked for Temirov Live for several months, slit his wrists in prison on May 30 because he could no longer stand the conditions of his detention, it added.

The Kyrgyz police, meanwhile, decided to open a new criminal case against Bolot Temirov and Ulan Nurmanbetov, both in exile, for supporting "calls to riot". Both journalists refute the accusations.

Press freedom is increasingly deteriorating in Kyrgyzstan, said RSF, noting October amendments to the law on defamation proposed by the presidency approved in the first reading. They introduced a fine of 100 to 200,000 som (around 1,080 to 2,150 euro) — an extremely high sum in the country — for cases of "insults" and "false information".

In August, the authorities announced the creation of an Information Environment Research Centre under the Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports and Youth Policy. It will monitor online media publications for anything it considers false information.

Last April, President Sadyr Japarov signed a “foreign agents” law. Modelled on a similar Russian law, it targets NGOs and independent media outlets.