Gulzhan Sheripbayeva. Photo courtesy of zobolo.kg
Gulzhan Sheripbayeva, owner and editor-in-chief of the Kyrgyz news site NazarNews, has been acquitted in a high-profile case involving a repost of an image depicting the Snow Maiden wearing a hijab. The Pervomaisky District Court in Bishkek issued the ruling on December 23, citing a lack of evidence to support the charges, according to 24.kg.
The prosecution had requested Sheripbayeva be fined 200,000 som (around $2,300), but the court dismissed the charges and granted her the right to rehabilitation.
The journalist was detained in November 2023 under Article 330 of the Kyrgyz Criminal Code, which criminalizes “inciting racial, ethnic, national, religious, or interregional enmity.” The case stemmed from her repost of an image showing the Snow Maiden in a hijab alongside Father Frost.
The investigation was led by the State Committee for National Security (SCNS). Article 330 carries penalties ranging from fines to imprisonment of up to seven years.
Just a month before her arrest, in October 2023, the Ministry of Culture had threatened to block NazarNews unless it removed an article allegedly defaming then-Prime Minister Akylbek Japarov. The outlet complied by taking the article down. Japarov was later dismissed on December 16, 2024.
