A Kyrgyz court has sentenced former National Academy of Sciences researcher and whistleblower, Zhoomart Karabaev, to three years’ probation. The conviction on May 27, 2025, was for charges of “incitement of mass disorder” and calling for disobedience to authorities. Human Rights Watch reported that the prosecution followed Karabaev’s social media posts alleging systematic fabrication of expert evidence in criminal trials. His lawyers plan to appeal the decision.
Karabaev, a linguistics expert aged 27, was detained in July 2024 after he alleged on Facebook that prosecutors routinely use fabricated conclusions against government critics. Authorities used these posts as evidence for the charges, initially seeking a seven-year prison sentence.
“Karabaev’s posts exposed a practice that would indicate corruption at the heart of what is supposed to be a system of fair trial,” said Syinat Sultanalieva from Human Rights Watch. She criticized the prosecution as an attack on free speech.
The conviction adds to concerns about corruption within Kyrgyzstan’s judicial system, which Karabaev sought to expose. In Kyrgyzstan, linguistic experts are often tasked with analyzing public content for incitement or hate speech—conclusions used as court evidence against journalists and activists.
Karabaev challenged this practice by claiming the National Academy of Sciences lacked proper methodology when providing analyses. He accused academy experts of signing pre-prepared statements from state bodies like the State Committee on National Security (SCNS). He specifically called out Azamat Zhanishbek Uulu for his role in convicting writer Olzhobay Shakir based on allegedly fabricated analysis.
Zhanishbek Uulu has been involved in several high-profile cases against government critics and journalists, consistently finding evidence of incitement or extremism. This includes involvement in a case against journalists from Temirov.Live where four were found guilty based on his analyses.
The prosecution controversially requested Zhanishbek Uulu’s analysis for Karabaev’s posts, which he claimed contained incitement elements. Karabaev had been dismissed from his academy position in 2023 after refusing to alter his analysis under pressure from prosecutors.
Human Rights Watch calls for Karabaev’s conviction dismissal and investigation into allegations of manipulated expert testimony. They urge Kyrgyz authorities to respect judicial independence and halt arbitrary prosecutions of critics while pressing international partners to uphold human rights obligations.
“This case exposes how Kyrgyzstan’s authorities weaponize the justice system against critics,” Sultanalieva stated. “Until the government stops manipulating courts and expert testimony, no one who speaks truth to power is safe.”
