A number of international human rights organizations such as the International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), the Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC), the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (HFHR), Freedom Now and others issued a statement calling for the immediate release of politicians and activists arrested in Kyrgyzstan.
«We, the undersigned organisations call on the authorities in Kyrgyzstan to immediately release and drop the charges against people arrested without credible reason in the past week after speaking out against a controversial draft border agreement with neighbouring Uzbekistan. We believe that the criminal cases initiated against them constitute retaliation for their legitimate criticism of government policies and their civic engagement on this issue. Instead of persecuting critical voices, the authorities should safeguard open discussion on this and other matters of public concern,» the human rights activists say.
The Committee for protection of Kempir-Abad reservoir was created on October 22. It includes activists, politicians and MPs. On the same day, in an interview with Kabar news agency, President Sadyr Japarov said: the authorities have information who was behind the rallies and marches on Kempir-Abad issue.
Mass searches began on October 23; more than 20 people were detained and placed in remand centers of Bishkek and Chui region.
As noted in the statement, the mass arrests were marked by numerous procedural violations, as documented by the Ombudsperson’s office and NGOs. Based on its monitoring, the Ombudsperson’s office found that law enforcement officials intimidated and behaved rudely towards some of those arrested and prevented activists and their family members from video recording the actions of law enforcement officials.
The Ministry of Interior of Kyrgyzstan has claimed that those under investigation were involved in preparing and organising riots aimed at the ‘’illegal seizure of power’’, although they are only known to have peacefully expressed their opposition to the draft border agreement, demanded transparency of the decision-making process on this issue and peacefully associated with others to challenge the government’s plans for Kempir-Abad.
«The recent mass arrests form part of a widening crackdown on dissent seen during President Sadyr Japarov’s time in office. In recent months, a growing number of journalists, bloggers and activists have been subjected to surveillance, searches of their homes, detention, interrogation and criminal prosecution in apparent retaliation for posting and sharing information on issues that are sensitive to those in power. The authorities have attempted to tighten control over media, including through a new draft media law recently put forward and have increased efforts to prevent the dissemination of allegedly ‘’false’’ information on the Internet,» the statement reads.
This week, the website of the Kyrgyz service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty was blocked for two months because of the publication of allegedly ‘’incorrect’’ information about the hostilities at the Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan border in September 2022.
Based on the above, human rights activists call on the authorities of the country to:
- Respect their international obligations on freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly and refrain from using criminal prosecution as a tool of retaliation against those who criticise and oppose government initiatives, such as the border agreement with Uzbekistan now under consideration;
- Ensure strict compliance with due process and fair trial guarantees set out by national and international law in the criminal cases related to the Kempir-Abad issue;
- Allow the Ombudsperson’s office and civil society organisations to carry out monitoring of the developments related to these criminal cases without obstruction and implement the recommendations issued based on this monitoring;
- Ensure that citizens have access to transparent and comprehensive information on the issue of the status of the Kempir-Abad reservoir and that they are granted effective opportunities to have a say on this and other issues directly affecting them.
