The Bishkek city court considered an appeal by the prosecutor's office against the decision of the district court and decided to expel investigative journalist Bolot Temirov from Kyrgyzstan. It is reported by Radio Azattyk.
Temirov was forcibly taken out of the courtroom. Temirov's lawyer Bakytbek Avtandilulu said in an interview with the Kyrgyz edition of RFE/RL that he did not know where his client was taken. It is also unknown how the court decision on expulsion will be executed.
Temirov's defense insisted on the full acquittal of the journalist for lack of corpus delicti.
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.