Dmitriy and Oksana Chausov and Nikolay Kupriyanskiy on the day of the verdict Dmitriy and Oksana Chausov and Nikolay Kupriyanskiy on the day of the verdict judge of the Leninskiy District Court of Kursk sentenced three Jehovah's Witnesses: Nikolay Kupriyanskiy received 6 years in a penal colony The believers were taken into custody in the courtroom The criminal prosecution of Kupriyanskiy and the Chausovs began with searches in the summer of 2023. They were led by Maksim Zaitsev, an investigator of the FSB Directorate for the Kursk Region, who had previously led a case against five other Jehovah's Witnesses from Kursk Dmitriy Chausov was sent to a pretrial detention center which interrupted the treatment he was having for a serious illness the court placed Dmitriy under house arrest but due to the ban on communicating with the defendants in the case he was separated from his wife for more than a year All three believers spent between 6 and 15 months under house arrest on the statement of a witness who testified in court in a similar case against five believers the prosecutor requested 7 years in a penal colony for Kupriyanskiy and 3 years in a penal colony for the Chausovs The defendants pleaded not guilty and can appeal the verdict This website uses cookies. If you give permission, we will use cookies to make your visit more personal, improve its quality and improve the performance of the site based on how you use it. 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You can learn more about the types of cookies we use on our Privacy and Cookie Policy page the Supreme Court of Kyrgyzstan upheld the prison sentences of journalists Makhabat Tazhibek kyzy and Azamat Ishenbekov the Leninskiy District Court in Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek sentenced two journalists to over five years in prison each for their alleged role promoting ‘mass unrest’ The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns the harsh sentencing of both journalists as both a clear violation of press freedom and an attempt to silence critical voices in Kyrgyzstan All eleven journalists were charged under Article 278.3 of the Criminal Code for incitement to mass riots and violence against citizens while the remaining seven were acquitted due to insufficient evidence Temirov Live, a YouTube-based outlet founded in 2022 by Bolot Temirov – who was expelled from Kyrgyzstan in 2022 – is now led by his wife one of the journalists sentenced last week The sentencing is a part of a broader crackdown on media freedom in Kyrgyzstan. On July 16, 2024, the Judicial Board of the Supreme Court for Civil and Economic Cases in Kyrgyzstan upheld the Oktyabrskiy District Court of Bishkek's decision to close the human rights media outlet Kloop Media (Kloop) This ruling is final and cannot be appealed taking effect immediately upon its announcement The IFJ said:“This ruling will not only silence important media work but undermine the very foundation of free expression in Kyrgyzstan In a context where critical or anti-corruption can result in a criminal conviction All charges must be withdrawn against these journalists immediately.” UPDATE 27.02.2025 Journalists Makhabat Tazhibek kyzy and Azamat Ishenbekov's prison sentences have been upheld by Supreme Court of Kyrgyzstan after rejecting their appeals Another two journalists Tazhibek kyzy had been sentenced to six years and Ishenbekov to five years on charges related to alleged calls for mass unrest The court also maintained the five-year sentence of journalist Ayke Beyshekeeva though she remains free under a three-year probation The journalists insist they were prosecuted for their reporting on government corruption and plan to continue seeking justice For further information contact IFJ Asia - Pacific on [email protected] The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 140 countries Twitter: @ifjasiapacific, on Facebook: IFJAsiaPacific and Instagram To mark World Press Freedom Day, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), on behalf of the South Asia Media Solidarity Network (SAMSN),… Many IFJ affiliates are taking action to mark World Press Freedom Day on 3 May. Here is a non-exhaustive list of their initiatives. Senior journalist Juan “Johnny” Dayang was shot and killed when an unknown gunman fired into his Barangay Andagao residence in Kalibo, in Aklan… The International Federation of Journalists is the global voice of journalists. Founded in 1926, it is the world’s largest organisation of journalists, representing 600,000 media professionals in 187 unions and associations in more than 140 countries. Copyright © 2025. IFJ - International Federation of Journalists. All rights reserved It’s no secret that the KGB used assassination, often by poison, to silence political dissidents that spoke out against the Soviet regime (known within the agency as "liquid affairs"). What remains shrouded in secrecy to this day, however, is the mysterious laboratory where the Soviets invented new methods of poisoning enemies of the state without leaving a trace. The Soviet Union’s secret poison factory was established in 1921, not long after an attempted assassination of Vladimir Lenin via poison-coated bullets. Originally dubbed the “Special Room,” it was later called Laboratory No. 1, Lab X, and Laboratory No. 12 before becoming known simply as the Kamera or "the Chamber" under Joseph Stalin. As for the lab itself, very little is known to this day, including the exact location. KGB agents were not allowed to enter the lab or ever told of its whereabouts; only Chamber staff and high-level officials were allowed in. Some disturbing details were revealed in 1954 by a KGB defector, who admitted that poisons were tested on political prisoners and described the lab as being near the secret police headquarters in Lubyanka. The Soviet government, for its part, had just the previous year claimed that the lab was abolished. But many believe it may still be functioning in some form today, and the lethal innovations developed there still in use. Though it’s been some 30 years since the fall of the Soviet Union, even within the last decade enemies of the Kremlin have been found dead in mysterious circumstances, including some, apparently, by poison. This four-story steel sphere in Maryland was used to test biological weapons. A former Latvian headquarters of the brutal KGB secret police is now open as a grim reminder of their atrocities. This sculpture was made out of recycled guns that were turned in to the city. This magnificently macabre shield shows the power of chivalrous love in medieval times. A plaque marks the house in Stockholm where the French philosopher René Descartes lived up until his death. Tucked away in the Tower of London is the weapon once used to execute high-profile prisoners. This oddly shaped building is a surprising Soviet-era crematorium. Part of a secret 1970s nuclear defense program is now open to the public. Rustam Seidkuliev on the day of the verdict Rustam Seidkuliev on the day of the verdict having considered the appeal of Rustam Seidkuliev slightly softened the sentence: now the believer will have to spend 2 years and 4 months behind bars The believer has been in jail since the announcement of the verdict by the court of first instance — since May 2021 Seidkuliev asked the appellate court to fully acquit him He has the right to appeal against the verdict in cassation Judge of the Leninskiy District Court of Saratov, Andrey Yefimov, found 44-year-old Rustam Seidkuliev guilty of participation in extremist activities in May 2021 He sentenced him to 2.5 years in prison and 1 year of imprisonment The prosecutor asked for a punishment for the believer in the form of 4 years of imprisonment in a general regime colony Rustam learned that the Saratov law enforcement officers had opened a criminal case against him for extremism in Adler, where he moved with his wife for family reasons. On February 15, 2020, police officers detained him with his wife in a shopping center then he spent 5 days in a special detention center The believer was under house arrest for seven months I immediately tried to occupy myself with something: I did crosswords started a notebook for planning things in the future I tried to keep the brain busy with something all the time because then time flows faster and there is no time to lose heart and worry The first 2 months I was under house arrest not at home and without a wife but being busy with some business and planning the day helped not to lose heart and not get upset because I understood that some of my fellow believers who are now in prisons and colonies are much worse off than to me" The criminal prosecution deprived Rustam of the opportunity to provide for his family financially The believer says: “I quit my official job so as not to let clients down in case of my arrest There were plans to open a photo studio and equipment was purchased for this but everything had to be sold for next to nothing All the time while Rustam was under house arrest When he was not allowed to leave the house for walks they helped the Seidkulievs as much as they could: they repaired the roof believers who were not allowed into the courtroom cheered Rustam with applause and words of support The court hearings in the case of Seidkuliev in the Leninskiy District Court began more than a year after his arrest and lasted only a month the believer was sentenced to imprisonment “[During the court hearings] it was not taken into account that the Russian Federation has repeatedly publicly reaffirmed the right of believers of Jehovah's Witnesses to profess and spread their faith after the liquidation of their legal entities.. the collection of information about my personal life was caused exclusively by my religious affiliation,” Rustam Seidkuliev noted in his appeal In September 2019, six peaceful Saratov Jehovah's Witnesses were also sentenced to prison for their faith. Konstantin Bazhenov, Aleksey Budenchuk, Gennadiy German, Roman Gridasov, Feliks Makhammadiyev and Aleksey Miretskiy have already served their sentences Makhammadiyev and Bazhenov were deported from Russia AKIPRESS.COM - A pharmaceutical inspector of the Medicines and Medical Supplies Department was attacked during a raid at the Osh market in Bishkek head of pharmaceutical inspection department Talant Dushembiyev said Counternarcotics Service are conducting checks at the market to foil unauthorized trade of medicines The attack case was registered by Leninskiy district police precinct AKIPRESS.COM - Bishkek police received reports alleging bombs were planted in the Supreme Court Leninskiy District Court and the Ministry of Digital Development on the morning of October 19 The respective services are combing the buildings