Jazz musician from Kyrgyzstan Vikram Ruzakhunov asked the OSCE representatives to investigate the January 2022 events in Kazakhstan. His speech at the annual Human Dimension Conference in Warsaw was published on the organization’s YouTube channel.
The musician recalled that he was the first citizen of Kyrgyzstan who became a victim of torture on the territory of the foreign state.
«If Kazakh justice finds and punishes those responsible for torture, this will become a deterrent to its spread in the region. After the video, in which I was identified and fuss was made, the myth about 20,000 terrorists who attacked Kazakhstan was busted for the whole world. Thanks to the civil society of Kyrgyzstan, I was released. It’s scary to imagine if an unknown person was chosen for the video. I was the first foreigner whom they wanted to present as a terrorist and a pogrom-maker. Eight months later, no one has been arrested or prosecuted within my case on torture,» he said.
Vikram Ruzakhunov urged the organization to pay attention to the problems of torture.
Mass protests in Kazakhstan began on January 2, 2022. Residents of Zhanaozen and Aktau in Mangistau region opposed the increase in prices for liquefied gas, then the protests spread to other regions.
President of the republic Kassym-Jomart Tokayev introduced a state of emergency in the republic, dismissed the government and became the head of the Security Council. At his request, the CSTO countries sent peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan. Scorpion special unit was sent to the republic from Kyrgyzstan.
On January 9, social media and Kazakh TV channels showed a video, in which a man says that he came to Kazakhstan to participate in a rally in Almaty. It is said in the video that some people called the Kyrgyzstani on January 1 and offered to participate in the rally for $200. The man was identified as the head of a jazz orchestra from Bishkek Vikram Ruzakhunov.
Activists and journalists of Kyrgyzstan appealed to the authorities of the two countries with a request to release the detained musician and return him to his homeland. He crossed the Kyrgyz-Kazakh border on January 10 at 6.40 p.m.
«All my evidence in the video is false. Bruises and scratches appeared on January 7, it was a harsh detention with the use of force,» the musician told journalists after arrival in Bishkek.
Criminal cases have been initiated on the fact of detention and ill-treatment of Kyrgyzstanis Cholponbek Sydykov and Vikram Ruzakhunov, investigative measures are being taken.
