Affiliated media: Temirov Live, Team of investigative journalists

Incident date: October 31, 2023

Attack type:

• Arrest of bank account/ property

Who attacked: Non-authorities

Source: kloop.kg

Location: Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek

Additional information:

MBank blocked the account for donations for the work of Temirov Live. The bank said that according to the rules «an individual client can use the account and the bank’s mobile application only for personal transactions». The founder of Temirov Live, investigative journalist Bolot Temirov, announced on October 30 that he had opened an account at MBank to collect donations «to fight corruption and lawlessness of the authorities». Earlier, in 2022, he had already tried to crowdsource funds for the work of investigators. Previously, the Temirov Live team released several high-profile investigations on corruption in the highest echelons of power, one of which mentioned the head of the UKMK Kamchybek Tashiyev. On November 23, 2022, the Bishkek City Court ordered Temirov’s expulsion from Kyrgyzstan. Immediately after the announcement of the court decision, the journalist was forcibly removed from the building and taken to the airport, where he was deported to Russia.