The court's decision in the case of Aleksandrov and Duulatov was made after they appealed the verdict. The court confirmed their guilt, sentencing them to three years of probation and releasing them immediately in the courtroom, as reported by Azattyk.
As for the accountants, their sentence remained the same—they also received three years of probation supervision.
In September, the district court sentenced Aleksandrov and Duulatov to five years in prison, accusing them of "calls for mass riots." At the sentencing stage, the defendants retracted their previously given confessions, stating that they were coerced into testifying against themselves.
The verdict drew condemnation from several international organizations, including Amnesty International, which characterized it as "a flagrant example of the use of criminal legislation to pressure independent journalism."
The charges against Aleksandrov and Duulatov were based on materials posted on the YouTube channel Temirov Live, created by investigative journalist Bolot Temirov, who was arbitrarily stripped of Kyrgyz citizenship and expelled from the country in 2022.
In February 2024, the Bishkek prosecutor's office achieved the liquidation of the legal entity "Kloop"—the public fund Kloop Media. The supervisory authority claimed that most of the publication's content had a "negative character and aimed at discrediting the state and municipal authorities" of Kyrgyzstan.
At the end of October, the Oktyabrsky District Court of Bishkek recognized the materials of the media projects Temirov Live, Kloop.kg (Public Fund "Kloop Media"), and "Ait, ait dese" as "extremist," as well as the activities of their founders—Bolot Temirov and Rinat Tukhvatshin.
