“Special operation” to detain investigative journalist Bolot Temirov and his colleague, akyn-improviser Bolot Nazarov, was received by the Kyrgyz public as a threat to freedom of speech
According to the detainees and activists, a strict “special operation” was held by the authorities in order to demonstrate its attitude towards journalists investigating the corruption schemes of those in power, and towards akyns who criticise the actions of the authorities.
The Saturday night detention of Bolot Temirov, a well-known investigative journalist, and akyn-improviser Bolot Nazarov, who works with him, caused widespread public outcry and criticism of the work of security agencies.
In the evening of January 22, law-enforcement bodies came to the office of the author of investigative programmes Temirov Live, and reportedly found drugs in the pocket of journalist Bolot Temirov. Temirov and his team claim that the drugs were planted by security officials. Temirov was detained and sent to the compulsory drug-testing facility, which found that he had not taken drugs. However, processors and other equipment that stored journalistic investigations were confiscated from the office.
On the same day, another member of the team, akyn Bolot Nazarov, was detained outside of the office. A bag of hashish was found in his possession. A drug test found some traces of drug use in Nazarov.
The Main Department of Internal Affairs of Bishkek reported that the search was carried out upon request of A.A. She asked to take measures against an unknown person named “Bolot”, who allegedly forced her to take drugs with his friends. As a result, 7.77 grams of hashish were found in the possession of Bolot Temirov, and 8.69 grams in the possession of his colleague Nazarov. Criminal cases were opened under the Articles “Illicit manufacture of drugs without the purpose of dealing” and “Inducement to use narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.” After a wave of discontent among activists on January 23, Bolot Temirov was released on recognisance, while Bolot Nazarov was placed under house arrest.
Pressure on the freedom of speech
The detention of Temirov and his colleague took place amid the publication of an investigation into the family of Kamchybek Tashiev, the head of GKNB. On January 22, the YouTube channel Temirov Live released the video “How to earn 37 million soms in two days? Sadyr Zhaparov and the Tashiev’s scheme.” As journalists found out, the “Region-Oil” company, which is related to the family of the head of GKNB, acts as an intermediary and is engaged in the export of heating oil from “Kyrgyz Petroleum Company.” The latter is a subsidiary of the State company “Kyrgyzneftegaz”, whose head is Tashiev’s nephew, Baigazy Matisakov. “Region Oil” buys heating oil from state-owned company for 22 cents per kilo, and exports for 34 cents. In just two transactions, the company earned 37 million soms (nearly 435,000 dollars) on margin. According to the investigators, such transactions were carried out at least 52 times.
The head of GKNB, Kamchybek Tashiev, held a press conference on Sunday January 23 , the day after the arrest, where he tried to explain in detail the groundlessness of statements made in the journalistic investigation. According to him, the detention of Bolot Temirov amid the publication of the investigative report was a coincidence.
“His investigation does not damage my image. Why? Because it’s all lies and means to tarnish… All investigations of Temirov Live are lies. I have never been involved in corruption, have never caused damage to the state. This is my life philosophy,” said the head of GKNB at the press conference.
According to Tashiev, all companies mentioned carry out their businesses in accordance with the laws of Kyrgyzstan, and he has no personal relationship with these companies, it is the private business of his relatives. He noted that these companies legally sell petroleum products and do not cause any damage to the state budget, but instead pay taxes and fees.
President Sadyr Zhaparov on his Facebook page wrote that the cases of Bolot Temirov and Bolot Nazarov are under his control and warned journalists of “folk-leasing and unproven charges of anyone.”
According to Bolot Temirov, editorial staff had been under surveillance for a long time. There had been threats against individuals, and a hidden camera with wiretapping had been found in his apartment. However, all of these events, as Temirov noted, would not stop the investigative team. Only a lack of equipment can affect the quality of the materials – the seized equipment will not be released while the trials are under way.
“I have two versions: first one, Kamchybek Tashiev was framed because it would be stupid to detain right after the release of the investigation. The case was initiated not by GKNB, but by MIA. Maybe, Kamchybek Tashiev was out of touch on the matter. The second one is that Tashiev gave instructions personally. And this is legal mayhem. It means that law-enforcement bodies are under direct control of the authorities and execute their orders,” Temirov said to journalists after his release.
Despite the events of Saturday night, the actions of law enforcement bodies regarding Bolot Temirov and his team caused a negative reaction among journalists and civil activists. On that evening, a few dozen journalists, activists and human rights defenders gathered near Temirov’s office, where “investigative action” was in progress. They showed their discontent and expressed concern over the actions of the authorities. Much criticism was demonstrated on social media.
On behalf of the media community, the Media Policy Institute issued a statement where it emphasised that these circumstances show that Kyrgyzstan “does not respect the rights of journalists guaranteed by the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic and national laws on the freedom of speech and the freedom of the press.”
The media community demanded a stop to the persecution of the investigating journalist, and to check the legitimacy and facts of the detention, the reliability of evidence, and whether the abuse of power was involved in the seizure of office equipment on a charge of drug use and denial of lawyer’s access to Bolot Temirov.
According to media expert Azamat Tynayev, the detention of Bolot Temirov shows that we in Kyrgyzstan live in a lawless state. Therefore, it should be a signal to all journalists, especially investigative ones, that conducting journalistic investigations is extremely risky in Kyrgyzstan.
“The authorities should understand that key topics of journalistic investigations are corruption, abuse, ineffective management. In other words, these things should be avoided by the authorities to achieve good performance in their work,” Tynaev said to CABAR.asia. “This is the necessary and compulsory guarantee of stable and positive development, including in economy, social relations.”
The chair of the Independent Union of Journalists, Azamat Kasybekov, considers the recent events as pressure on freedom of speech. According to him, the authorities should not forget about civilised methods of dialogue.
“It’s clear that every investigation causes certain reaction of those in power. However, they should avoid any coercive approaches against journalists. There are some other methods, say, lawsuits, non-legal proceedings. They need to have a dialogue with the media. If a journalist has questions about corruption, give him an explanation. Tell him, show him the scheme, financial system. But it should be done before, not after,” Kasybekov said.
Media expert Azamat Tynaev said that even if the subjects of investigations choose a path of intimidation, blackmail, and crackdown, it will lead to no good. Experience shows that most of the people who provoked journalists have been left on the brink of history.
According to Eldiyar Arykbaev, the OCCRP coordinator for Central Asia, the investigative journalism in Kyrgyzstan is now in its renaissance. Over the past few years, there have been more investigative teams working on important topics for the country.
“In fact, we cannot say that [journalists] have not done this genre at all in the past, for example, 10 or 15 years ago. Of course, there were known investigations. But the key difference between what was then and what is happening now in the genre is the quality and the approaches that are being used,” Arykbaev said. “Previously, investigations referred to the publication of leaked materials from GKNB, intelligence agencies, law-enforcement agencies or even articles that have nothing to do with traditional investigations.”
About 7-8 years ago, there was a new development in the genre, when Kloop and other media outlets began to publish the first thoroughly prepared works. Some of these investigations include “Corrupt Roman type”, Samaragate, the property of officials in Bulgaria. These were the first steps in strengthening the high standards of the genre in Kyrgyzstan. The following development took place in 2018 – local media outlets began to collaborate with international networks of investigative journalists.
“And the most prominent investigation is the one about Raiymbek Matraimov, about Khabibulo Abdukadyr, which is the apex of the genre in Kyrgyzstan so far. It showed how to work with such stories. In other words, it showed how thoroughly the topic can be learned, investigated and told about,” Arykbaev said.
After the investigation, the case of ex-customs officer Raiymbek Matraimov came to trial, but he only had to pay the penalty and compensation. However, him and his family were included on the Global Magnitsky List.
If the material is well prepared, of good quality, and has no faults, the reaction will follow both from the public and from the authorities. At the same time, the reaction can be similar to the case of Bolot Temirov.
“The investigative journalist works mostly on very sensitive topics that involve high-ranking officials who have a rather wide range of powers. They can also work with rich people, who also have the resources to cause damage to a journalist,” Arykbaev said. “Of course, journalists should take security measures in such situations and be as cautious as possible. In the case of Bolot Temirov, given what we see and what the lawyers say, it all sounds like a provocation. Moreover, the law-enforcement authorities have not yet provided convincing evidence that it is what they say it is.”