Interpol Rejects Kyrgyzstan’s Request Against Journalist Rinat Tuhvatshin

31 октября 2025 г., 15:24

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Interpol Rejects Kyrgyzstan’s Request Against Journalist Rinat Tuhvatshin

Amid a crackdown on the free press, Kyrgyzstan requested that Interpol issue a Red Notice against Rinat Tuhvatshin, co-founder of Kloop, in an apparent attempt to silence him abroad.

Interpol has rejected a request from Kyrgyz authorities to issue an international warrant for the co-founder of one of the country’s leading independent media outlets, calling the request politically motivated.

OCCRP learned Thursday that Kyrgyzstan had asked Interpol to issue a so-called Red Notice for Rinat Tuhvatshin, the co-founder of Kloop, an award-winning outlet that is part of of OCCRP’s global network. A Red Notice requires authorities in member countries to arrest the wanted person for possible extradition.

An Interpol spokesperson said on Friday that the request from Kyrgyzstan had been received, but rejected. 

“Interpol’s constitution has strict rules preventing our system from being used for political purposes, and so we have declined the Red Notice request,” said Samuel Heath, Interpol’s director of communications.

Still, the Red Notice for Tuhvatshin was visible to authorities in at least one country on Thursday and appeared as “pending review” in another country’s system.

Heath declined to comment on how or why the Red Notice was disseminated despite having been rejected.

The move against Tuhvatshin comes amid a years-long crackdown on independent journalism under President Sadyr Japarov, who took office in 2020.

Kloop has published investigations into corruption at the Kyrgyz border and irregularities during the 2021 presidential election, among other topics. Unhappy with such reporting, the government sued the outlet and a Bishkek court ordered its closure in February 2024, arguing that its coverage of corruption and other irregularities “affected people’s mental health” by upsetting them with “negative information.”

“I’m very sad that the Kyrgyz authorities have decided to abuse the Interpol system. I fear this will harm the reputation of our country,” said Tuhvatshin, who has been living in exile abroad since the crackdown on journalism intensified.

“This system was created to locate dangerous criminals around the world, but our authorities have chosen to use it to persecute journalists — me, in this case. I’m not afraid because I’ve done nothing wrong and broken no laws. I believe that I will be fine. But it’s a shame for the country.”

Leila Nazgul Seiitbek, a Kyrgyz human rights activist now living in exile in Vienna, also said the Red Notice request was an abuse of the Interpol system.

“They’re now trying by any means available — including abusing Interpol’s powers — to get to Rinat, bring him back, and silence him. They want to stop him from sharing any truth or opinions from abroad. This is being done to destroy a critic,” she told OCCRP.

Seiitbek noted that Kyrgyz authorities have used similar tactics in the past.

“Authoritarian regimes often exploit Interpol, and this problem is well known to international institutions,” she said.

On October 27, a Kyrgyz court declared Tuhvatshin and several colleagues “extremists.” The ruling also applied to Kloop’s editor-in-chief, Anna Kapushenko; director, Galina Gaparova; and Temirov Live editor-in-chief, Bolot Temirov — as well as to both outlets’ social media accounts.

According to the court decision, prosecutors claimed that the media projects Temirov Live, Ait Ait Dese, and Kloop — all independent outlets — showed “criminal communicative intent aimed at overthrowing the current government.”

In 2024, police raided the homes of 11 Temirov Live employees and its newsroom. All were charged with “inciting mass unrest.” Seven were later acquitted, two received three-year probation sentences, and two — Azamat Ishenbekov and Makhabat Tazhibek kyzy — were sentenced to five and six years in prison, respectively. Ishenbekov was pardoned in April 2025, but Tazhibek kyzy remains behind bars.

The campaign against investigative journalists intensified in May 2025, when 10 people affiliated with Kloop were detained. Most were released the same day, except two cameramen — Alexandr Alexandrov and Joomart Dulatov — who were later sentenced to five years in prison, while two former accountants received three years’ probation.

International organizations have condemned the crackdown. Amnesty International called it “a glaring example of the destruction of independent journalism,” while the Committee to Protect Journalists described it as “a shameful episode in the history of modern Kyrgyzstan.”

“Kyrgyzstan has showed over and over again it will stop at nothing in its persecution of independent journalists," said OCCRP editor-in-chief Miranda Patrucic. "Reporters abroad and home are being targeted and facing arrest. This latest incident is a serious warning that no one is safe."