London, August 24, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists reiterates its call for authorities in Kyrgyzstan to withdraw criminal charges against Makhabat Tajibek kyzy, director of anti-corruption investigative outlets Temirov Live and Ait Ait Dese, ahead of her retrial, which is scheduled to begin in Bishkek on Tuesday.
Tajibek kyzy spent more than two years in jail after being arrested in 2024 and sentenced to six years in prison on charges of calling for mass unrest. She was released in March this year after Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Court overturned her conviction and sent her case back to a lower court for review on the basis of a United Nations Working Group decision that said she had been arbitrarily detained.
“Makhabat Tajibek kyzy’s original arrest and conviction constitute an egregious injustice and she should not be facing trial at all. Kyrgyzstan now has an opportunity to repair the damage being done to its international reputation by years of sustained press freedom abuses under President Sadyr Japarov,” said Fiona O’Brien, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia regional director. “Kyrgyz authorities should drop the charges against Makhabat Tajibek kyzy, lift all restrictions on her movement, and allow her to work freely.”
At a preparatory retrial hearing on March 23, a court in Bishkek rejected the journalist’s petition to dismiss the case but granted her request to be freed pending a verdict. She remains under a travel ban.
Tajibek kyzy is married to Bolot Temirov, who founded YouTube-based Temirov Live and was deported in 2022 in retaliation for his work. Temirov, who was one of CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award winners in 2025, was also effectively stripped of his Kyrgyz citizenship.
In January 2024, Tajibek kyzy was among 11 current and former journalists from Temirov Live, a Kyrgyz partner of global investigative outlet Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), who were arrested on allegations of incitement.
Authorities argued that the outlet’s reporting, which frequently investigates allegations of corruption at the top levels of the Kyrgyz state, “discredited” the government, thereby “indirectly” calling for mass unrest. In October 2024, Tajibek kyzy was convicted alongside Ait Ait Dese presenter Azamat Ishenbekov, who was sentenced to five years in prison. Ishenbekov was later released after a presidential pardon.
Since Japarov came to power in 2020, authorities have launched an unprecedented crackdown on independent reporting in a country previously seen as a regional haven for the free press, shuttering key outlets and jailing journalists.
In October 2025, authorities declared Temirov’s work, that of his outlets, and the work of another OCCRP member — investigative outlet Kloop — “extremist,” banning their distribution in the country.
Facts Only
* Makhabat Tajibek kyzy is the director of anti-corruption investigative outlets Temirov Live and Ait Ait Dese.
* A retrial for Tajibek kyzy is scheduled to begin in Bishkek on Tuesday.
* Tajibek kyzy was arrested in 2024 and sentenced to six years in prison for calling for mass unrest.
* Her conviction was overturned by Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Court, leading to a case review based on a United Nations Working Group decision regarding arbitrary detention.
* A court in Bishkek rejected a petition to dismiss the case but granted her request to be freed pending a verdict; she remains under a travel ban.
* Tajibek kyzy is married to Bolot Temirov, who founded Temirov Live.
* Bolot Temirov was deported in 2022 for his work.
* Tajibek kyzy was among 11 current and former journalists from Temirov Live arrested in January 2024 over allegations of incitement.
* In October 2024, Tajibek kyzy was convicted alongside Ait Ait Dese presenter Azamat Ishenbekov, who received a five-year sentence.
* Authorities declared the work of Temirov and Kloop (an OCCRP member) "extremist" in October 2025, banning their distribution.
Executive Summary
The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for Kyrgyz authorities to withdraw criminal charges against Makhabat Tajibek kyzy, director of investigative outlets Temirov Live and Ait Ait Dese, before her scheduled retrial in Bishkek. The group argues that the original arrest and conviction constitute an injustice, suggesting Kyrgyzstan has an opportunity to repair its international reputation regarding press freedom abuses under President Sadyr Japarov. Fiona O’Brien stated that Kyrgyz authorities should drop charges, lift movement restrictions on Tajibek kyzy, and allow her freedom of work.
Previously, Tajibek kyzy was arrested in 2024 and sentenced to six years for calling for mass unrest. Her conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court, leading to a review by a lower court based on a UN Working Group decision regarding arbitrary detention. A preparatory hearing in March 2024 resulted in the denial of her petition to dismiss the case but granted her release pending a verdict, though she remains under a travel ban.
The situation involves complex interconnectedness: Tajibek kyzy is married to Bolot Temirov, who founded Temirov Live and was deported in 2022 for his work. Temirov, recognized by the CPJ with an award in 2025, was also stripped of Kyrgyz citizenship. In January 2024, Tajibek kyzy was among journalists from Temirov Live who were arrested over allegations of incitement related to reporting on corruption. Authorities contended that this reporting discredited the government, indirectly advocating for unrest. Furthermore, in October 2025, authorities labeled the work of Temirov and Kloop, an OCCRP member, as "extremist" and banned their distribution.
Full Take
The narrative centers on the systemic use of legal and administrative mechanisms to suppress independent investigative journalism under a specific political regime. The repeated actions—arrests, conviction, travel bans, deportations, and subsequent labeling of work as "extremist"—suggest a deliberate strategy aimed at neutralizing critical reporting by imposing legal and social exile on journalists and their collaborators.
A significant pattern emerges in the interplay between state power and international accountability: when domestic judicial processes are challenged (e.g., the Supreme Court overturning a conviction), external bodies like the UN Working Group step in, but these external findings do not automatically translate into immediate liberation from state control. Instead, the outcome is procedural delay (pending verdict) coupled with punitive measures (travel bans). This suggests that sovereignty claims are actively managed to prolong repression rather than facilitate redress.
The linkage between Temirov and Tajibek kyzy illustrates a pattern of punishing networks: when journalists work collaboratively on exposing corruption, the state targets the individuals and their foundational structures. The shifting legal status—from criminal conviction to administrative deportation to ideological labeling—demonstrates an evasion strategy where accountability is addressed not through justice, but through perpetual uncertainty and displacement. The core implication is that free expression in this context is contingent not only upon the content of the reporting but also upon the political viability of the state apparatus itself.
What are the true costs of procedural stalling when international norms have been invoked? Does granting immediate release under duress serve a different strategic purpose than allowing the legal process to proceed, even if slow? How do states manage the perception of legitimacy when their actions contradict established international frameworks?
Sentinel — Human
The text exhibits the structure and detail consistent with human-authored journalistic reporting, focusing on specific legal cases within a documented political context.