On May 19, 2026, Kyrgyz border agents denied entry to and deported Steve Swerdlow, a Central Asia researcher and associate professor in the Department of Political and International Relations at the University of Southern California (USC).
At the time of his deportation, Swerdlow was leading a group of 16 undergraduates on a visit to Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan that was intended to foster intercultural dialogue, educational cooperation, and interaction between students and local communities. Swerdlow, who lived and worked in Kyrgyzstan from 2012 to 2019 as a researcher for Human Rights Watch and had taken students on similar trips in 2022 and 2024, planned for the undergraduates to attend academic lectures and meet with policymakers, government officials, NGO activists, journalists, and academics to discuss human rights, civic participation, academic exchange, and regional development.
When Swerdlow and the students arrived at the Bishkek airport at 4:30 am on May 19, Kyrgyz border officials allowed the students to enter but pulled the professor out of the passport control line. Three officers informed him that he was not allowed to enter Kyrgyzstan but did not provide a reason for the denial. He was shown and was allowed to photograph, but not to keep, an official letter from the border service that stated only that entry to Kyrgyzstan was “not permitted” to him. Over the past decade, Kyrgyzstan has periodically denied entry to journalists and foreign human rights activists without notice and without clear explanations. Swerdlow was deported to Istanbul, Türkiye.
Scholars at Risk is concerned about the arbitrary denial of a scholar’s entry to a country to engage in academic activity. State authorities have an obligation to respect academic freedom and to refrain from actions that restrict or retaliate against academic activity so long as it is peaceful and responsible. In addition to harm to the immediate victim, travel restrictions intended to deter such activity undermine academic freedom and democratic society generally.
Sources:
https://timesca.com/american-professor-and-longtime-central-asia-researcher-denied-entry-to-kyrgyzstan/
https://thediplomat.com/2026/05/entry-into-the-kyrgyz-republic-is-closed-us-professor-denied-entry-to-kyrgyzstan/
https://kaktus.media/doc/546360_professora_iz_ssha_stiva_sverdloy_ne_pystili_v_kyrgyzstan._pravozashitniki_obespokoeny.html
https://24.kg/english/374423_Human_rights_activists_concerned_about_detention_entry_ban_of_Steve_Swerdlow/