A 19-year-old freelance journalist was briefly detained at Bishkek airport on Sunday in what appears to be the latest episode in Kyrgyzstan’s widening crackdown on independent media.
Kutman Kalenov, who previously interned at the investigative outlet Kloop and now contributes as a freelancer, was stopped by border officers and handed over to the State Committee for National Security (GKNB) for interrogation, according to local media and rights groups. His whereabouts were unknown for several hours until he was released later that evening.
Kalenov’s detention follows months of pressure on Kloop, a member center of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), which has been under scrutiny since May. Authorities have interrogated multiple current and former employees, detaining two while raiding homes and seizing equipment—often without allowing legal representation, in violation of Kyrgyz law.
In July, authorities forcibly shut down Kloop following its investigations into alleged customs corruption. Earlier this year, 11 reporters from Temirov Live, another OCCRP partner, were arrested.
International watchdogs, including Reporters Without Borders and Human Rights Watch, have condemned the Kyrgyz government’s actions as part of an escalating assault on press freedom.