The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) found that the detention of nine Kyrgyz journalists violated their right to freedom of expression, following submissions by TrialWatch and Covington & Burling LLP.
The WGAD found that the government had “effectively equate[d] dissent and public criticism with incitement to violence” and discriminated against the journalists on the basis of their political opinion. The WGAD also concluded that the Temirov LIVE journalists’ case violated their fair trial rights, echoing a February 2025 TrialWatch Fairness Report that gave the proceedings a ‘D’ grade.
“The UN Working Group’s decision has confirmed the violations TrialWatch documented in this case, which is part of a broader attempt in Kyrgyzstan to crack down on critical reporting,” said Kate Levine, Senior Legal Program Manager at the Clooney Foundation for Justice. “The Working Group also found the government is misusing a vague law to target dissent. This needs to stop.”
Temirov Live is a prominent Kyrgyz YouTube outlet focusing in part on anti-corruption issues. In 2024, the journalists were arrested and charged with inciting disobedience to the authorities or riots under Article 278(3) of the Kyrgyzstan Criminal Code, which the Working Group concluded “has been wielded as a tool of political repression rather than as a legitimate means of maintaining public order.” TrialWatch has previously monitored several other cases brought under this same provision.
While some defendants were later acquitted, others were sentenced to significant prison sentences or probation.
“Clearly, we believed from the very beginning that the judges and law enforcement agencies of Kyrgyzstan were targeting us for our work. We consider the UN decision to be fair and objective. We are glad that the Working Group straightened out the situation. We are also grateful to the Clooney Foundation for collecting documents and facts and proving our innocence at the highest level,” said Bolot Temirov, the founder of Temirov LIVE.
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