Kyrgyzstani Bekiyev received a seven-year prison sentence for critical posts on charges of inciting unrest and overthrowing the government.
On December 10, 2025, the Chui Regional Court, presided over by Judge Bakyt Kasymaliev, upheld the conviction of Kyrgyzstani Emil Bekiyev for social media posts. Bekiyev was found guilty of incitement to mass unrest (Article 278, Part 3) and incitement to the violent seizure of power (Article 327, Part 3).
According to investigators, he committed these crimes while serving a sentence in Penal Colony No. 27 for similar offenses. In June 2023, Bekiyev was sentenced to six years in prison after being found guilty of inciting mass riots (Article 278, Part 3) and inciting hatred (Article 330).
Based on the two convictions combined and the partial addition of unserved time, Emil Bekiyev was sentenced to 7 years in prison.
What did Bekiyev do?
According to the State Committee for National Security's press release, Bekiyev registered a fake Facebook account, “Alyp Kachar Salyp Kachar,” and from January to March 2025, wrote critical posts and comments about the government. The court ruling states that Bekiyev violated prison rules, which prohibit inmates from using phones. Investigators presented a hard drive and a Redmi 12 phone to the court as evidence of Bekiyev's illegal actions.
Furthermore, the verdict states that Bekiyev attempted to “negatively influence the socio-political situation in the country” through his social media posts.
“In particular, he engaged in denigrating and discrediting the current government, deliberately and unjustifiably presenting the situation in a one-sided light in order to provoke discontent among the population, and also called for mass unrest by illegally publishing media content via the social network Facebook,” the verdict states.
The 5th Department of the State Committee for National Security (GKNB) for the Chui Region was able to locate Bekiyev through his social media account. The agency identified a phone number linked to the Facebook account and then discovered that it was used by a prisoner. Bekiyev admitted to using the phone.
The verdict does not state this, but the State Committee for National Security's press release stated that Bekiyev communicated with investigative journalist Bolot Temirov.
“It has been established that Emil Bekiyev, while serving his sentence in Correctional Colony No. 27 of the State Penitentiary Service, maintained contact with blogger Bolot Temirov, head of the Temirov Live project, to whom he transmitted information about the situation in the State Penitentiary Service facilities and received corresponding instructions from him,” the State Committee for National Security said in a statement.
The journalist himself says he doesn't understand why security officials added his name to Bekiyev's case in the press release.
“I don't quite understand why they included these phrases in the press release. […] Soon they'll be writing: 'was on the same planet as Bolot Temirov.' […] It seems our law enforcement agencies' main goal is to slap Bolot Temirov everywhere. It even reaches the point of absurdity. I don't instruct anyone. I was and remain a journalist,” he said.
For what publications was Bekiyev convicted?
The court ruling listed 34 posts and comments by Bekiyev in which linguists found signs of calls for unrest and the overthrow of the government.
For example, he predicted the imminent end of the rule of Sadyr Japarov and Kamchybek Tashiev and said that their entourage and relatives would also have to answer:
- “Zhaparov will flee and his henchmen and deputies will be detained!”
- “We'll detain Sabyr (Japarov), Doolot (Japarov), Shaiyr (Tashiev), Taimuras (Tashiev), Rustam (Japarov), Daiyr (Orunbekov), and Kanybek (Tumanbaev), so they don't escape! The day has come to answer for everything!”
- “Relatives of Japarov and Tashiev! Tomorrow the government could change, and you'll be fawning over journalists and activists, bloggers and politicians. Right now they're in prison. But then everything will change, such is the cycle of politics. And tomorrow you'll be behind bars, get ready for it.”
He criticized the decisions taken by the authorities regarding border issues.
- “May the souls of those who died defending the borders from Tajik aggression punish two friends! Death to those who sold the land!”
- “Sadyr Japarov is a hero of Tajikistan!”
- “He stole millions of dollars when he was head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. Then he tore his pants on the White House fence trying to seize power. He sold out the land, he's a traitor!”
He spoke about strengthening the powers of the State Committee for National Security.
- “If we don't drive away two friends, then even to have sex with my wife we'll have to ask permission from the State Committee for National Security. Where are our people? Don't be afraid of being detained.”
- “A certificate of no criminal record issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs is not valid! But a certificate of no criminal record issued by the State Committee for National Security, it turns out, is valid! Maybe we should abolish the Ministry of Internal Affairs?”
Criticized the authorities for detaining journalists, activists and bloggers.
- “You swallowed the arrests of Kanyshay Mamyrkulova, Zarina Torokulova, Makhabat Tazhybek kyzy, Kanykei Aranova. Are there any men here?”
- “We could have sat quietly in Orozo, but why did you detain Kanyshai Mamyrkulova? There's going to be an April revolution.”
- “Activists, journalists, and bloggers are being held in prison illegally! They'll be released tomorrow, and the state will have to pay them compensation. Sadyr will flee.”
Wrote about the increase in public debt.
- “The two friends haven't stuck to power; they'll soon be gone. We're left without land, without water, and with a $9 billion debt hanging over our necks. Are there any good people who understand this?”
- “In 2020, the Kyrgyz Republic's debt was $4.5 billion, and now, in 2025, we have a debt of $9 billion. Over four years, the debt has increased by $4.5 billion, Sadyke.”
“The materials provided for examination contain linguistic signs of calls for the overthrow of the government, for the violent seizure of power through revolution,” the linguists stated in the court's ruling.
Who is Emil Bekiyev and how did he end up in prison?
Kyrgyz authorities extradited activist Emil Bekiyev from Russia to Kyrgyzstan in 2022. Facebook posts also served as the reason for the extradition.
“I'll go to Kyrgyzstan and answer for it. I'm clean. Because expressing my opinion leads to things that haven't happened in 30 years. We see young activists who have spoken out critically being jailed. Perhaps the same thing awaits me. I could be jailed tomorrow, too, as soon as I arrive. No one can guarantee it. Because a criminal case was opened against me back in February. Since then, they've tried to take me away from here twice. But for some reason, the fact that I was a Russian citizen helped me back then,” Bekiyev said shortly before his extradition.
Bekiyev was also known as a supporter of politician Adakhan Madumarov and was reportedly a member of the Butun Kyrgyzstan party. He is known to have held a solo picket outside the Kyrgyz diplomatic mission in Russia to protest the results of the Kyrgyz presidential election.
He also had a YouTube channel where he also criticized the government. Bekiyev pleaded not guilty and was sentenced to six years in prison in 2022.
