In Kyrgyzstan, an ‘unprecedented crackdown’ on free press raises alarm

As several laws threaten to criminalise their work, investigative reporters are fleeing the Central Asian nation.

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and Warsaw, Poland – Last year, Aidai Irgebai had a serious talk with her two sons, aged nine and seven.

The boys would not return to their school in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan’s capital, when the holiday break was over, Irgebai told them. In fact, they may not return home at all.

They were in Warsaw, Poland’s capital, where Kloop, a well-known investigative media outlet that Irgebai works for, had set up a new office pre-emptively, fearing the consequences of a growing crackdown against independent journalism in Kyrgyzstan.

With hindsight, that seems like a prescient move.

Before the summer ended, state prosecutors shut Kloop down, claiming that it was not properly registered as a media organisation. Kloop is appealing the decision.

“They can easily silence us by putting pressure on our children. I’m not very good at keeping quiet, so it became clear that I had to stay abroad to continue working as a journalist,” Irgebai, 34, told Al Jazeera in Kloop’s office in central Warsaw.

Kyrgyzstan has gone through three revolutions over the past 20 years and has long been viewed as the freest post-Soviet republic in Central Asia.

The last revolution in 2021 brought to power President Sadyr Japarov, who in tandem with security services chief Kamchybek Tashiev has ruled the country since, gradually strengthening their grip on power.

This has become difficult, however, as the number of critical voices and professional investigative teams rose, having been developed over the years of relative freedom.

Kloop and other Kyrgyz media have investigated high-level corruption, such as in 2020 when Kloop and its