Country Report on Terrorism 2024 - Chapter 1 - Kyrgyz Republic

Country Overview:  The Kyrgyz Republic focused on arresting suspected terrorists and repatriating, rehabilitating, and reintegrating nationals from Iraq and northeast Syria.  The government restricts public access to information on national security, making it difficult to assess counterterrorism operations and threat levels. An estimated 850 Kyrgyz citizens have left to join terrorist groups since 2014.  In September, the Kyrgyz Republic removed the Taliban from its terrorist list.  In October, Parliament broadened the definition of terrorist materials, which observers warned could target political opponents and non-violent groups and suppress free speech.  The government does not yet operate API or Passenger Name Record systems for commercial flights.

In 2024, the Kyrgyz government repatriated 121 of its nationals, including minors, from displaced persons camps in northeast Syria.  However, the government was limited in its ability to rehabilitate, investigate, and prosecute returning FTFs and their family members, due to a lack of expertise, insufficient resources, and an inadequate legal framework.  The Kyrgyz government estimated that around 100 Kyrgyz women and children were willing to be repatriated.  Repatriated women and children went through a reintegration program before returning to their communities to live with relatives, and local municipalities took primary responsibility for reintegrating the returnees.  National security agencies and local law enforcement monitored the returnees for indicators of recidivism.  More than 50 Kyrgyz FTFs remained in detention facilities in northeast Syria at the end of 2024; the Kyrgyz government has not committed to returning them.

International organizations and Kyrgyz government officials expressed concerns that the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Kyrgyz State Committee for National Security lacked adequate legal and operational tools to prosecute nationals suspected of committing terrorist acts abroad.  In December, Parliament adopted amendments to the law “On Combating the Financing of Terrorist Activities and Money Laundering” to strengthen measures against the financing of organized crime and terrorism.  The Ministry of Justice, together with the State Commission for Religious Affairs and UNDP, held a training session on preventing terrorist recruitment.

Together with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the department continued a project on post-release monitoring and probation of FTFs.  Kyrgyz Republic security entities held in-depth consultations with the United Nations Office of Counterterrorism to enhance the security of critical infrastructure, soft targets, and public places, and joined the UN’s Protecting Vulnerable Targets Against Terrorism Program.  China and Russia aided Kyrgyz law-enforcement agencies in 2024.

2024 Terrorism Trends:  Authorities reported several terrorism-related arrests, including six citizens accused of receiving training in Syria and others accused of recruiting Kyrgyz nationals to join international terrorist organizations.  The Prosecutor General’s Office reported that terrorism-related crimes were increasing, including the recruitment of youth and the promotion of violence through social media.