A court in Bishkek acknowledged that the investigation into the case of Kyrgyz journalist Bolot Temirov was biased and cleared him of charges of drug possession and illegal crossing of the state border, for which he faced up to 20 years in prison.
“The judge said that they wanted to put me in jail. He agreed that the case against me was fabricated. We will ensure that the perpetrators are punished, ”said Temirov himself.
As a result, the court found Temirov guilty only of forging documents in 2008, but released him from punishment due to the expiration of the statute of limitations for the crime.
Temirov has been involved in anti-corruption investigations for several years. Almost all this time, he was followed, his social media accounts were hacked and his phones were tapped. Two years ago, after exposing the former deputy head of the customs service, the journalist was beaten. After another high-profile investigation, drugs were planted on him and a criminal case was opened. Read more about this case and the pressure on the journalist in general in The Insider.