Former Kloop Employees Sentenced to Five Years in Kyrgyzstan for “Calling for Unrest”
Photo: Facebook / Kloop
A Bishkek court has sentenced two former camera operators from the independent outlet Kloop to five years in prison for videos they did not produce, Orda.kz reports.
Kloop described the verdict as “cannibalistic, senseless, and illogical.”
Case Background
The trial of four former Kloop employees began in early August. On September 17, former camera operators Zhoomart Duulatov and Alexander Alexandrov were sentenced to five years in a general-regime penal colony. Two accountants received three-year suspended sentences.
All four were convicted of inciting unrest over five videos that, according to Kloop, they had no involvement in.
All five articles were published by investigative journalist Bolot Temirov on the YouTube channel Temirov Live. Bolot Temirov has previously stated that he is not acquainted with or affiliated with the former Kloop operators and accountants. He also noted that he produces all of his own content,
the outlet reported.
According to Kloop, experts found no direct calls for unrest in the videos.
Investigators also sought to prove that Bolot Temirov was financing the outlet, but did not provide evidence.
Defense Position
The defendants pleaded not guilty, saying they had faced pressure during the investigation. In court, they retracted earlier confessions made without legal representation.
The defense argued that the trial was intended to intimidate other Kyrgyz journalists “so that they no longer associate with Temirov Live and others.”
Pressure on Kloop
Kloop’s editorial team has faced pressure from the authorities for years. In autumn 2023, the site was blocked, and in February 2024, a court ordered the liquidation of the Kloop Media public foundation.
In 2024, 11 journalists were convicted under the same article on inciting unrest. Among them were Temirov Live project head Makhabat Tazhibek kyzy and akyn (poet) Azamat Ishenbekov of the Ait Ait Dese project, sentenced to six and five years in prison, respectively.
Ishenbekov was granted a presidential pardon on April 9, 2025, and released.
Original Author: Oksana Matvienko
Latest news
- 14-Year-Old In Tesla Tries To Flee Police In Astana
- When a Michelin-Recognized Restaurant Will Open in Almaty, Akimat Says
- Transfers To China From Kazakhstan Fall To Six-Year Low
- Chinese Company To Build $1.2 Billion Steel Plant In Kazakhstan
- Moldova Finally Leaves The CIS And Bets On The EU
- Kazakhstani Scientists Develop Feed From Meat Processing Waste
- Why Large Families Face the Highest Poverty Risk in Kazakhstan
- Kazakhstan Schoolboy First in Central Asia to Receive Google Grant
- Kazakhstan Prosecutor General’s Office Checks Possible Ties Between Officials and Epstein Case
- After Farmers' Complaints, Kazakhstan Changes Potato Trading Rules
- Officials Accused Of Legalizing Thousands Of Migrants For Bribes In Astana
- Almaty Zoo Names Triplet Tiger Cubs
- Only One Loss-Making Bank Remains In Kazakhstan
- Cormorants To Be Shot In Pavlodar Region
- Kazakhstan And Ukraine Uncover Network Of Fraudulent Call Centers
- Price Growth In Kazakhstan Slows
- How A Chinese Goose Ended Up In Almaty And Joined A Flock Of Wild Ducks
- How Much Savings Make A Kazakhstani Well-Off In Kazakhstan
- How The War In The Middle East Affected Kazakhstanis’ Pension Savings
- Why Almaty’s Crematorium Is Still Not Operating: Authorities Explain
