BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, Sept 18, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A Kyrgyzstan court has sentenced two cameramen from an investigative media outlet to five years in prison over alleged attempts to incite mass unrest and riots.

Kyrgyzstan has long been the most democratic of the former Soviet republics in Central Asia. But global rights and press freedom groups have condemned what they call an escalating crackdown on the media and civil society.

The two cameramen who had worked with the Kloop independent outlet were Wednesday found guilty of "inciting insubordination to state agents and mass riots," according to a ruling sent to AFP.

Funded by private, mainly Western, donors and covering corruption cases, Kloop was banned last year for its "strong criticism of the government" but continued to operate.

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov himself once stated that Kloop "only brings harm to Kyrgyzstan."

The convicted cameramen, born in 1997 and 2002, admitted their guilt but later said they had signed confessions under duress, according to a video of the trial released by Kloop.

Citing the indictment, Kloop said a court expert found that the media outlet wanted to discredit Japarov.

Kloop was also accused of links to Bolot Temirov, a journalist in exile whose YouTube channel carries out anti-corruption investigations and who has become a nemesis for the Kyrgyz authorities.

The media outlet said the cameramen were not involved in producing Temirov's videos, and the journalist says he worked on them by himself.

In June, Reporters Without Borders denounced the "shameful methods the Kyrgyz authorities are using to silence the Kloop journalists".