Akyl Orozbekov

Affiliated media: YouTube channel Temirov Live, Cameraman, Video editor

Incident date: January 16, 2024

Attack type:

• Court trial

Who attacked: Authorities

Source: Radio Azattyq

Location: Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek

Additional information:

Akyl Orozbekov was detained and arrested on January 16 together with 10 other investigative journalists of Temirov Live team. On January 17, he was taken to a temporary detention centre and then to a pre-trial detention centre. Like the other Temirov Live journalists, Orozbekov is charged under Article 278 of the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic (calls for mass riots), which provides for up to 8 years in prison. The Ministry of Internal Affairs said that the reason for the case was one of the episodes of Temirov Live in December 2023, where experts allegedly found signs of calls for mass riots. However, Bolot Temirov, the founder of Temirov Live, who was expelled from the country for his professional activities, links the mass arrests of journalists to recent investigations into the assets and wealth of the Minister of Internal Affairs Niyazbekov and his relatives. Temirov Live journalists specialise in investigating corruption in the highest echelons of power.