On April 2, Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov signed a bill on foreign funding for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) into law. NGOs that receive funding from abroad will be registered as “foreign representatives,” and they will be subject to costly reporting and auditing requirements. In the many months it took for this piece of legislation to pass … Read more
Mere days after breaking up an alleged assassination plot, Kyrgyz authorities finally got their hands on fugitive former deputy customs head Raimbek Matraimov, whom they’d implicated as behind the plot. On March 23, as Central Asia was reeling from news of the Crocus City Hall attack on the outskirts of Moscow, Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for … Read more
After a massive pre-dawn explosion on February 2 at the Bishkek Thermal Power Plant, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov pledged to order a “complete modernization” of the plant, which he described as “older than me.” Five people were injured, three of them seriously, in the explosion, which the Ministry of Emergency Situations said occurred in a … Read more
Last month, over the course of two days Kyrgyz authorities carried out raids on the homes and offices of more than dozen journalists in Bishkek, ultimately detaining 11 journalists associated with Temirov Live and sealing the offices of 24.kg. Although pressure on media in Kyrgyzstan has escalated, Rinat Tuhvatshin, co-founder of Kloop told The Diplomat … Read more
As Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov marked three years in power this week, officials in his government confirmed that he’d seek a second term. Deputy Prime Minister Edil Baisalov said Japarov would take part in the next election during an Azattyk program on January 29. “The constitution allows it, so he will not just abandon things … Read more
Raimbek Matraimov is again a wanted man. Last week, Kyrgyz media reported sources stating that the State Committee on National Security (SCNS) had placed the infamous deputy customs head on a wanted list on suspicion of abducting and illegally incarcerating unnamed individuals. No further details have been offered about the charges. If anything proves that … Read more
Kyrgyz authorities claim to have quashed a coup, announcing the detention of an unstated number of “key” associates of Imamidin Tashov, a real estate developer and one-time presidential candidate, and Tilekmat Kurenov, an activist, as well as the interrogation many others. The State Committee for National Security (SCNS or GKNB) said on January 11 that … Read more
As 2024 dawned in Kyrgyzstan, a new flag fluttered over Bishkek. To the untrained eye, it may look mostly the same but the rays on the sun are a little straighter – even if the priorities of the Kyrgyz government remain wavering. On November 29, Kyrgyzstan’s parliament passed the first of three required readings of … Read more
On November 29, Kyrgyzstan’s parliament passed the first reading of a bill that would redesign specific elements of the country’s flag. Article 3 of the law “About the state symbols of the Kyrgyz Republic” lays out the dimensions of the flag and its design components. The flag features a “round solar disk with forty evenly … Read more
Advertisement Kamchybek Tashiev, the head of Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security (SCNS), announced late last week that more than 200 civil servants were being dismissed from their jobs “for connections with criminal elements and organized crime groups,” specifically naming Raiymbek Matraimov and Kamchybek Kolbaev. Kolbaev was killed last month by SCNS officers in a … Read more