At a meeting with a delegation of members of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights, President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov briefly commented on the case against Temirov Live journalists and the acquitted by the District Court defendants in the so-called Kempir-Abad case. The video from the meeting was published by the NTRK TV channel.
«Two journalists are in prison, two were put on probation, seven were acquitted. The courts acquitted them, we agreed with their decision. When we were resolving border issues with Uzbekistan, the so-called «Kempirabadtsy» came out. They said that all the lands had been given to their neighbors, the authorities’ decision was wrong. But in fact, 99 percent of the population saw that the issue was resolved in our favor. The interests of both countries were taken into account. But only 26 people protested, called on people to revolt, and that is why they were arrested. But the court acquitted them. We did not object,» Sadyr Japarov said.
The President noted that there is democracy in the country, freedom of speech, and, despite the fact that some independent media outlets report false information about him, he does not sue them or demand millions from them.
On February 25, the Supreme Court considered the cassation appeal of the lawyers of Temirov Live journalists Makhabat Tazhibek kyzy and Azamat Ishenbekov and upheld the decision of the previous instance, according to which the journalists were sentenced to six and five years in prison, respectively.
Makhabat Tazhibek kyzy and Azamat Ishenbekov were among 11 journalists who were arrested in January 2024. All of them are current or former members of the investigative team of Bolot Temirov. The police charged the journalists under Article 278 «Calls for mass riots» of the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic.
- On October 22, 2022, a committee to support the Kempir-Abad Reservoir was created. It included activists, politicians and members of Parliament. Mass arrests began on October 23 — the authorities sent 27 people to jail on charges of preparing for mass riots.
- On June 14, 2024, the Pervomaisky District Court acquitted 22 defendants in the Kempir-Abad case due to lack of evidence.
