Kyrgyzstan is sliding down to full blown autocracy. The country has traditionally stood out for offering greater protections for free speech, political parties, and NGOs than any other Central Asian nation. However, this began to change after President Sadyr Japarov came to power, reshaping the nation’s political landscape. Today, the once-free press is no longer truly free.

On October 28, 2025, the Oktyabrsky District Court in Bishkek declared three independent media outlets – Kloop Media Foundation, TemirovLive, and Ait Ait Dese (TemirovLive’s Kyrgyz-language sister channel) – as extremist organisations. In Kyrgyzstan, anyone who now shares materials produced by these outlets can face criminal charges. This move marks yet another step in the ongoing repression of independent media in the country.

Just a month ago, on September 17, 2025, two video makers from the Kloop, Alexander Alexandrov and Joomart Duulatov, were sentenced to a penal colony for five years. Both were charged for involvement in the production of videos for TemirovLive, that would allegedly have incited public unrest. The lack of evidence was striking throughout the trial. No connection could be proven between the work of Alexandrov and Duulatov with TemirovLive, or between Kloop and TemirovLive. On top of that, even the prosecutors themselves admitted that the videos concerned contained no direct incitements to civil unrest.

These accusations came after eight (former) Kloop employees were arrested in late May 2025, and held for questioning by the security forces, the GKNB. None were initially allowed to see their lawyers. The next few days, all suspects were released except for Alexandrov, Duulatov and two accountants. The GKNB subsequently published videos in which the (former) employees confessed to inciting civil unrest. These videos were likely taken under duress, as Alexandrov seemed to indicate himself. All four were taken to court, where the two journalists retracted their confessions. The accountants denied their involvement in the case. While shocking, the sentencing comes as no surprise.

The crackdown on Kloop and TemirovLive is the latest example of tightening repression under the regime of President Sadyr Japarov.

Read more on Novastan: Leaving the Island – Japarov’s campaign to silence independent media

The TemirovLive link

Kloop and TemirovLive have, for many years, been strongholds of independent journalism in Kyrgyzstan. Apart from this, the alleged link between Kloop and TemirovLive seems to come mostly from both outlets’ reporting on corruption. Resultingly the two organisations, as well as their founders and staff, have been repeatedly pressed with legal charges in the past.

Most infamous is the case of Bolot Temirov, the founder of TemirovLive, who was arrested on January 22, 2022, for the possession of drugs, which he claims were placed on him. This happened two days after he and his platform TemirovLive published a new investigation, accusing the head of the GKNB, Kamchybek Tashiev, of corruption.

Kloop and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), a US NGO supporting investigative journalism on organised crime and corruption, subsequently discovered that TemirovLive and Temirov himself were monitored long before the publication. In May 2022, Temirov was stripped of his Kyrgyz citizenship, after which he was acquitted on practically all charges laid against him later that year, in September 2022, because the investigation against him had been prejudiced. Still the harassment did not stop: Temirov was forcibly exiled to Russia in November 2022 in just a few hours’ time. His lawyers, friends and family did initially not know what had happened to him.

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New laws and the beginning of the end for free media

Japarov has taken numerous steps to restrict free journalism since coming to power following the 2020 October Revolution. First, on July 28, 2021, he implemented a law that would allow an “authorised state body” – whatever that may be – to block websites that publish so-deemed “false or inaccurate information”. To date, the Ministry of Culture has been its principal executor, as it has been actively persecuting free media under this new law.

In April 2024, the Kyrgyz parliament also passed a foreign agent law, akin to the one in Russia, which further limits the possibilities of NGOs and media that receive funds from abroad. The rationale for passing the foreign agent law is clear: to silence dissenting voices. Under the previous administration, numerous articles were published exposing large scale corruption, particularly in the Matraimov case, where a large politically connected corruption scheme was exposed in the Kyrgyz customs agency, stealing several million dollars.

Furthermore, Kloop’s election observation missions documented blatant violations during the 2020 and subsequent elections, prompting a partial recount and rerun of the 2021 parliamentary elections. These findings, along with Kloop’s daily reporting, underscore the vital role that that independent media has played in Kyrgyzstan, even in the face of mounting repression.

Read more on Novastan: In Central Asia, the Freedom of Press is in Decline

The autocrat’s way: closing publications and arresting critics

Kloop is not the first to meet the ire of Kyrgyzstan’s government. Over the past years, the authorities have adopted two main tactics for targeting media. One involves targeting key figures within organizations, through arrests, exile, intimidation or constant surveillance by security forces. The other focuses on restricting media outlets, including forced closures and the blocking of their websites.

In January 2024, eleven journalists from TemirovLive and Ait Ait Dese were arrested, even after Temirov himself had been exiled. During the same time, their offices (and that of 24.kg, another independent media outlet) were raided by the GKNB. Three journalists were eventually sentenced to long prison terms for calling for civil disobedience. According to Kyrgyz law it is illegal to call “for active disobedience to legitimate demands of the representatives of the authorities (…)”. Those found guilty of violating this law can face a minimum sentence of five years imprisonment.” The law’s ambiguous phrasing makes it easy to target journalists and other government critics.

The first victim of the earlier-mentioned disinformation law from July 2021 was the local branch of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), known as Azattyk. In October 2022, Azattyk was forced to close down over materials published about the September 2022 border conflict between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, which became a highly sensitive political issue. The Ministry of Culture argued that the materials published contained false information. The website remained blocked until July the next year, when Azattyk and the Ministry of Culture reached a settlement. For their part, Azattyk had to delete a video they had made about the conflict. In return they were allowed again to operate in Kyrgyzstan.

The laws on civil disobedience and disinformation have been used repeatedly against free media all across Kyrgyzstan, for instance against 24.kg, Kaktus media, Next TV, and Aprel TV. Most recently, in August this year, a new law was passed restricting foreign ownership in media organisations to 35%.

Read more on Novastan: Closure of Radio Azattyk sparks discontent from civil society and international human rights activists

The repression of Kloop

The recent arrests are not the first time that Kloop was targeted. On August 28, 2023, Kloop was taken to court over allegedly failing to name all media activities it was engaged in, as per its foundational charter, and not registering as a mass media outlet. The next month, its website was blocked.

During the court case, more allegations were levelled against Kloop: their alleged criticism would spur people on to protest against the government and lead to their reader’s ‘zombification’. The brunt of the lawsuit focused on the alleged ‘negativity’ of Kloop’s reporting. According to the prosecutors, this negativity could also lead to sexual anomalies or “chemical (…) addictions.”

In the end, Kloop was formally liquidated. It tried to go to the Supreme Court over the case, but the Court denied the request without informing the defendant within one month – as is legally required. Afterwards, Kloop continued its work under the legal entity of Koomar Media. Despite the blocking and outlawing of the Kloop legal entity, the Kloop journalists continued their investigations. This included an investigative piece on the president and his close associate Kamchybek Tashiev, head of the GKNB. The eki dos (two friends), as they are commonly called, would be involved in various corruption schemes.

The sentencing of Alexanderov and Dulaatov served as yet another stark warning that Kyrgyzstan’s democracy is in retreat. At best, those engaged in anti-corruption journalism must now fear for their freedom; at worst, it signals that no journalist is safe. With the declaration of TemirovLive, Kloop, and Ait Ait Dese as extremist organisations, the threat extends beyond journalists. Anyone who reads or shares independent media content can now face prosecution, even if they are not directly involved in journalism. The future of Kyrgyzstan’s independent press remains uncertain – but one thing is clear: the outlook is bleak.

Written by Stijn van der Veen

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The post Kyrgyzstan’s march to smother the free press appeared first on Novastan English.

Temirlan Yensebek, creator and author of “Qaznews24,” an agency of satirical news, has been detained on Saturday in Almaty. He is expected to stand trial under accusations of incitement of hatred. The court placed Yensebek in custody for the duration of the preliminary investigation. If convicted, he is facing up to 7 years in prison.

Civil activist and blogger Temirlan Yensebek, author of satirical media account Qaznews24, which masks as a news agency, was apprehended on Saturday afternoon at this home during a search. The same evening he stood a preliminary hearing and left the courthouse in handcuffs. The activist remains in custody for the next two months, until the conclusion of the preliminary investigation.

Yensebek’s lawyer Zhanar Balgabaeva told journalists that the reason for the arrest was the comic song “Yo, orystar” (“Yo, Russians”), which Yensebek added to a satirical post about Russian TV presenter Tina Kandelaki. A representative of the public prosecutor’s office filed a complaint about the post, which set events in motion.

Read more on Novastan: Pressure from Russia increases on Central Asian media outlets

Satire under scrutiny

Qaznews24 can be seen as a Kazakh analog of “The Onion” – a popular instagram page which publishes satirical pieces and perky comments on current affairs and social issues. Since its founding in 2021, Qaznews24 has featured dozens of posts about poverty, corruption, nepotism, and idolization of the powerful, laughing out conspiracy theorists, moralising hypocrits and sycophants in politics.

Although the page openly states its satirical orientation in every post, its content frequently causes confusion as the reports are being mistaken for real news. In 2021, Yensebek was accused of spreading misinformation and, after a search in his house, brought to the police office for questioning. Police issued a statement that Qaznews24 content was “disinforming the population and misleading the citizens,” labeling Yensebek as a fake news creator.

Yensebek’s colleagues then started a campaign called “Satire is not a crime,” demanding to stop the prosecution and ensure freedom of speech, which is guaranteed in the Kazakhstan Constitution. The campaign was supported by international human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch. After linguistic experts showed that humoristic content cannot be qualified as knowingly false information, the case was closed.

However, as recent events have shown, the authorities were not finished with Qaznews24 just yet.

“New Kazakhstan,” old methods

On Saturday, 18 January 2025, Yensebek’s house was searched again – this time under the pretext of Temirlan “inciting ethnic hatred.” He was then brought to the police station and faced a short evening trial. The judge mandated his detention for two months pending completion of a preliminary investigation. This is the harshest option provided by law.

After two months of investigation, Yesenbek will likely await another trial. If found guilty, he could be facing a penalty varying from a fine to restriction of freedom for a period of 2 to 7 years, to imprisonment for the same period.

Sunday, January 19, saw a new development to the story. Journalist and ex-editor-in-chief of art and culture web-portal Art of Her, Rus Biketov, went out on a solitary picket in support of Yensebek in Almaty. He was immediately apprehended by the police. On the same day, Biketov was sentenced to 15 days detention for violating the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the procedure for organizing and holding peaceful assemblies.

No laughing matter

Historically, Kazakhstan has never scored high on ratings measuring freedom of expression and freedom of the press. According to Freedom House’s Freedom on the Net report, Kazakhstan has a score of 34 out of 100, placing it in the “not free” category. RSF World Press Freedom Index puts Kazakhstan on place 142 out of 180, falling from place 134 in 2023. Global Expression Report defines Kazakhstan as “highly restricted.”

A slight improvement on the Freedom of Expression index from V-Dem Project does not really change the overall picture. This index shows the “[b]est estimate of the extent to which people can discuss political matters at home and in the public sphere, the press, and media are free and can present different political perspectives, and the freedom of academic and cultural expression,” and Kazakhstan’s score of 0,43/1 can be described as mediocre at best.

Read more on Novastan: In Central Asia, the Freedom of Press is in Decline

The prosecution of dissidents is not new either. Indeed, Kazakh authorities have shown a considerable lack of humor – and mostly, inability to take valid criticism – on various occasions already. One might wonder how in a country where police uses torture against protesters and organized crime is on the rise, a satirical account poses the greatest threat. Yet, in reality, this crackdown on satire is all but inconsequential. The idea is not to fight the greatest evil, but to target those who dared to speak up about it.

While the situation with Temirlan Yensebek might look absurd, his detention illustrates a concerning development in restricting freedom of the speech. More importantly, it aims to send a clear warning to civil society. As Factcheck.kz editor Adil Jalilov writes in his column, “the expected result of the arrest and criminal case against QazNews24 author Temirlan Yensebek . . . [is], [o]bviously, an increased self-censorship in the entire media community.”

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The post When Freedom of Speech Is a Joke: Author of a Satirical News Outlet Detained in Kazakhstan appeared first on Novastan English.

Almost every year, countries in Central Asia are placed at the bottom of NGO Reporters Without Borders’, annual ranking for the freedom of press. Every country has dropped in ranking, compared to the previous year.

The position of media coverage in Central Asia has never been renowned for its freedom. However, it seems that this year marks a turning point. 

In the NGO Reporters Without Borders’, new report as published on the 3^rd May 2023, it is noted that if ‘the Russian invasion in Ukraine and the deployment of the Kremlin’s propaganda […] has darkened the whole region [of Eastern Europe]’, Central Asian countries have also seen a sharp decline in their freedom of press since last year.

In a ranking of 180 countries, the nations that are in theory the most liberal in the region, such as Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan, are regressing. Kyrgyzstan is undergoing the most substantial evolution by dropping fifty rankings from 72^nd place to 122^nd place. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan fell twelve lines and is now positioned 134^th. Uzbekistan fell by four points (now at 137^th) due to the rise of attacks against the media.

The Remarkable Fall of Kyrgyzstan 

The deterioration of the freedom of press in Kyrgyzstan is evidenced by multiple attacks against journalists since 2022, as well as the promulgation of the law against false information in summer 2021. Under the scope of this law, the Kyrgyz government is intensifying the campaign against Kyrgyz service of the Radio Free Europe, known locally as Azattyk, in demanding the withdrawal of its licence on the 27^th April. At the end of October 2022, the Ministry of Culture blocked Azattyk as it refused to remove a video addressing the confrontations between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, at their border. 

Amnesty International asserts that this decision was a ‘blow to media freedom’, whilst the Committee to Protect Journalists has called it ‘a deeply chilling message.’ Reporters Without Borders speaks of ‘increasingly severe censorship’ in Kyrgyzstan.

Read more on Novastan: Closure of Radio Azattyk sparks discontent from civil society and international human rights activists

Last January, the independent media service Kloop found itself in a similar situation. The Ministry of Culture had threatened to block Kloop’s website if the editors refuse to withdraw an article on the inflating of construction costs by a state agency.

Last November, the journalist Bolot Temirov was extradited to Russia following a politically motivated trial, after he had denounced cases of corruption on his YouTube channel, Temirov Live.

Kazakhstan and Online Censorship

In Kazakhstan, media censorship is issued more discretely by blocking websites that might unsettle power. A report by the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI) indicates that authorities are obstructing access to the Azattyq website, the Kazakh service of Radio Free Europe.

Read more on Novastan: “An escalating manifestation of Russophobia” – Kazakhstan at the epicentre of an information war

From the snap presidential election of November last year till this January the access to the websites of Radio Azattyq and Current Time, another branch of Radio Free Europe, was blocked.

Kazakhstan has also promulgated a law ‘on the mass media’, a pretext to regulate, or even censor, the information that is available on the internet and particularly the information spreading in social media.

Pressure on Journalists in Uzbekistan

As in the previous year, Reporters Without Borders notes that in Uzbekistan, ‘the situation for the media has only slightly improved since the death of President Islam Karimov in 2016, and criticism of the government remains difficult.’ Nevertheless, Uzbekistan has gained twenty-four points in 2022.

Notably, the report indicates that the Uzbek authorities have ‘extensive’ control of the media and that many bloggers have close ties to the government. The country enforces ‘repressive’ laws on the media and ‘widespread surveillance, censorship and auto-censorship’, reports Gazeta.uz.

Read more on Novastan: Pressure from Russia increases on Central Asian media outlets

‘The large and medium media platforms, as well as bloggers with an audience of over 5,000 people, are subjected to intense pressures and censorship,’ as reported to Novastan by an Uzbek blogger with a small audience. ‘However, there are exceptions, with some channels having less than 1,000 to 2,000 subscribers who are also now facing pressure’, he continues.

Another Uzbek journalist with a critical stance on the government tells Novastan about the recent pressure imposed by the authorities upon journalists and bloggers, ahead of the constitutional referendum of the 30^th April 2023. ‘I know of at least three examples where managers of Telegram channels and journalists have been summoned to the State Security Service for a conversation’, he testifies.

Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, Always Bottom of the Ranking

Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, whose political regimes are the most repressive, remain at the bottom of the ranking. Compared to last year, Tajikistan drops one position on the list, now ranking 153^rd place. According to the NGO, the country has transitioned from a ‘difficult’ to a ‘very difficult’ position with regard to its freedom of press. The report notes that more and more journalists are choosing to exile.

Over the past year, repression has intensified against all forms of opposition, particularly in the Gorno-Badakhshan region and against the Pamiris ethnic minority. Certain activists for the community, who have been exiled, have been extradited to their countries of origin and sentenced to long-term prison sentences.

Read more on Novastan: Human rights in Tajikistan: Interview with the UN Special Rapporteur

Turkmenistan ranks 176^th place and remains among the five worst-ranked countries. Reporters Without Borders notes that censorship in Turkmenistan increased after Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow’s son, Serdar Berdimuhamedow, rose to power in March 2022.

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The post In Central Asia, the Freedom of Press is in Decline appeared first on Novastan English.

Fergana News, the biggest Russian news site dedicated to Central Asia, is experiencing major financial difficulties and is at risk of closing down.

This article was originally published on Novastan’s French website on 9 October 2020.  Since then, not much has changed for Fergana News.“We still haven’t received the wages we are owed (up to 4 months’ salary for some of us),” Nicholas Lewis, a former employee, told Novastan in March 2021. Former staff members have decided to go directly to the company’s investor.

On the homepage of the English version of the news website Fergana, a banner immediately grabs the reader’s attention: “Support Fergana!” This Russian media platform, one of the first to focus on Central Asia and its migrants living in Russia, is on the brink of closure due to a lack of funding. In early October 2020, only two employees remained, including the site’s founder Daniil Kislov. Freelancers have been working without pay in order to keep the website alive, with several articles still being published every day.

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Requesting donations from readers can only be a temporary solution. In an interview with Novastan, Daniil Kislov reported that the website raised around “2,000 or 3,000 dollars”, which was enough to pay two employees’ salaries for the month of June. “It’s not bad but I was hoping for a higher amount,” he added. He explained that only a minority of readers are able to support the website financially. The majority are Central Asian migrant workers living in Russia who don’t have the means to pay for news.

False hopes

The financial difficulties, according to Daniil Kislov, started when the majority shareholder withdrew funding. At one point, the investor simply stopped answering the organisation’s phone calls, explained Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta in an article covering the history of Fergana. Without warning, he withdrew all financial support and Fergana employees were forced to take unpaid leave for nearly six months.

The relationship between the investor and the news source had, however, started on good terms. Daniil Kislov explained to Novastan that Fergana.ru is a limited liability company (LLC) whose “main share [had been sold to] one of the famous oligarchs” two years ago. He did not reveal the oligarch’s identity but mentioned he was a Kazakh businessman who had “business interests in Russia, in Uzbekistan and internationally.”

“For the first time in the history of Fergana.ru, I had a team of 20 in Moscow alone,” the journalist recalls. “We had an Uzbek, a Tajik, a Turkmen, and a Kyrgyz department. In each department we had 2-3 editors, a main editor and a deputy, a correspondent, SEO managers, and so on.” The website was prospering: “For example, in 2016, the year when Karimov died, we had 5 million unique visitors. In 2019, we had more than 8 million unique visitors,” explained Daniil Kislov.

Blocked, unblocked, blocked again

After the relationship with the main shareholder ended, the situation was made worse when the Russian authorities blocked access to the website. In fact, the website Fergana.ru has been blocked in Russia by Roskomnadzor, the federal body responsible for media in Russia, since the end of 2019. It was a tough blow as the majority of readers, and therefore of advertisers, are located in Russia.

Throughout Central Asia, accessing the website also proved difficult. Uzbekistan blocked it after the Andijan ‘events’, the violent suppression of a protest leading to hundreds of deaths in May 2005, and only restored access in 2018. The website has been blocked and unblocked several times in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Accessing the website from Turkmenistan remains impossible “probably for good”, according to Daniil Kislov.

Read more: In Tajikistan, government control still slows down internet

To get around this obstacle, the news outlet set up several ‘mirror sites’, which are copies of the site using different URLs : fergana.ru, fergana.agency, fergana.site, fergana.plus and fergana.media. Some, but not all of these addresses are blocked in certain countries.

Unclear future

As of October 2020, the news outlet, or what was left of it, still didn’t have a new source of funding. “Are we going to keep on working?” Daniil Kislov wondered. “Maybe we should stop and close everything. Maybe we should work with a reduced budget. I don’t know.”

For now, the editor in chief still works as much as possible, asking journalists to publish their work without payment. He mentioned the example of a Tajik journalist who accepts to work for Fergana for free because it’s a platform where they can write anonymous articles that would not otherwise be published in Tajikistan. The website is kept alive by the desire to share information, but for how long?

Valentine Baldassari
Novastan.org

Translated from French by Alice Coveney

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The post Fergana News at risk of closing down appeared first on Novastan English.