The international organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the authorities of Kyrgyzstan to release Kloop staff members Alexander Alexandrov and Zhoomart Duulatov.
«Procedural violations, unjustified seizures, forced confessions, defamation and smear campaigns — all these shameful methods are used by the Kyrgyz authorities to silence Kloop’s journalists, and they must come to an end. RSF strongly condemns this attempt to intimidate independent journalists and calls on President Sadyr Japarov to immediately release Alexander Alexandrov and Zhoomart Duulatov,» Jeanne Cavelier, RSF head of Eastern Europe and Central Asia Desk, said.
Recall, the house of Kloop journalist in Osh Ziyagul Bolot kyzy was searched, after which she was taken for questioning. Later it was reported that the camera operator of Kloop in Bishkek, Alexander Alexandrov, was also taken for questioning to the SCNS. After the searches, the current journalist Aidai Erkebaeva and former employee of the media outlet Zara Sydygalieva, who resigned back in 2023, were taken for questioning. In total, seven people have been interrogated.
On May 30, the accountant of the media outlet was detained. She was stopped on the street in the capital near one of the banks and taken to the SCNS.
Ziyagul Bolot kyzy, Aidai Erkebaeva, Zara Sadygaliyeva and two other girls, who were brought for questioning together with current and former journalists of Kloop, were released on a non-disclosure pledge.
In 2023, the prosecutor’s office filed a lawsuit to shut down Kloop Media Public Foundation. As a result of the trials, it was liquidated in 2024.