It’s a trip Steve Swerdlow has made many times: flying from Los Angeles, California to Istanbul, Turkiye and onward to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyzstan is a country Swerdlow knows well and loves deeply. He lived in Bishkek from 2012 to 2019 while working for Human Rights Watch and fully immersed himself in the city’s rhythms – literally, Swerdlow is a jazz pianist and played regularly while living in Kyrgyzstan. He continued to visit in the years after, having transitioned into a job as a professor at the University of Southern California (USC).
On May 19, it was in that role – as a professor, but also a tour guide and translator – that Swerdlow landed once more at Manas International Airport north of Bishkek with 16 USC undergraduate students in tow.
His students lined up behind him in the passport queue and then, at around 4:30 am, everything went sideways.
Almost immediately, Swerdlow told The Diplomat, he was taken out of the line and led to a small office in the departures area on the airport’s second floor. There three border officers – “almost gleefully” – told him that he was banned from entering Kyrgyzstan.
When pressed for an explanation, the officers deflected, telling Swerdlow that they were only the “implementers” and that they did not have any information about why he was being denied entry. Several different officers said he would be given an official, written deportation order that would state the reason for his denial, as required by law.
