Crossroads Asia | Politics | Central Asia

Kyrgyz Supreme Court Dismissed Kloop’s Appeal of ‘Extremist’ Declaration

The beleaguered outlet, and its founder, had been branded “extremist” in October 2025. 

Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Court on March 9 dismissed an appeal from Kloop, upholding the October 2025 declaration of the outlet as “extremist.”

The publication’s lawyer, Nurbek Toktakunov, said that the court reviewed the case very quickly. In comments published by Kloop, Toktakunov said, “judges follow orders from above that favor the ruling group, they are given the opportunity to profit from corruption and rob the people.”

On October 28, 2025 a court in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, declared Kloop – alongside TemirovLive and Ait, Ait Dese – as well as the activities of the outlets’ founders, Rinat Tukhvatshin and Bolot Temirov, respectively, “extremist.”

Kloop, an award-winning investigative media outlet, learned of the decision from social media. The outlets’ representatives were never summoned to the court. Toktakunov said that the courts and security services knew he represented the outlet and Tukhvatshin, but never attempted to contact him and inform them about the upcoming hearing. 

According to Kloop, “the specific materials examined by the experts and ultimately deemed extremist by........

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