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
- Almost 100 Houses Flooded After Heavy Rain In Mangistau Region
- Medeu Reconstruction Workers Complain About Unpaid Wages
- Tax Breaks Planned in Kazakhstan to Ease Pressure on Businesses and Investors
- More Than Two Tons of Infected Plums and Cherries From Kyrgyzstan Blocked at Kazakhstan Border
- Almaty Zoo Welcomes First Raccoon Cubs in Almost Two Decades
- Mausoleum, Necropolis and Rare Trade Artifacts Found in Northern Kazakhstan
- Imported Chinese Cars May Get Much More Expensive For Kazakhstanis
- Kazakhstan Reports Less Crime, But Serious Cases Are Becoming More Prominent
- Officials Fined Over Illegal Dumps in Atyrau Region
- Astana to Reward Residents for Reporting Offenses
- Kazakhstan Officially Licenses Crypto Exchange Operator for the First Time
- More Than 200,000 People in Kazakhstan Legally Own Weapons
- Kazakhstan Builds Greenhouses To End Winter Vegetable Shortages
- Kazakhstan’s State Oil Company And China’s CNPC Plan Refinery Expansion
- Kazakhstan And Turkey Sign Nuclear Energy Cooperation Deal
- Kazakhstan Sets Campaign Dates For Kurultai Election
- Kazakhstan Tightens Control Over Fuel Prices
- Almaty Metro Bans Electric Scooters, Bikes And Skateboards
- Kazakhstan Ready To Supply Gasoline To Russia On Mutually Beneficial Terms
- Banks in Kazakhstan and Other EAEU Countries Tighten Rules on Cash Ruble Deposits
