Timur Timerkhanov

Affiliated media: Freelance Journalist

Incident date: September 21, 2022

Attack type:

• Forced deportation, Extradition

Who attacked: Authorities

Source: kloop.kg

Location: Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek

Additional information:

At Manas airport in Bishkek, the journalist from Russia was detained by the border service of Kyrgyzstan. Temirkhanov told the local media that he had two passports — a Russian and a Tajik passport, but that he had entered Kyrgyzstan with a Russian document. The border guards took a long time to examine his passport because it had stamps stating that he had entered Tajikistan. «Then, an officer came and looked at my phone and my correspondence, and I agreed [to show them]», — the journalist said. — Then, they held me for about three hours. When I asked, they said they would send me back to Petersburg«. It took the journalist a long time to explain the reason for his deportation. Only four hours later, one of the border guards reported that Temirkhanov fell under a «temporary ban for citizens of Tajikistan to enter Kyrgyzstan». Such a decision was made back in May 2021. A day later, while at the airport, Temirkhanov told local journalists that he was «forced to buy a return ticket».