The Institute of Ombudsman of Kyrgyzstan applied to the Prosecutor General with an act of response to bring to justice law enforcement officers who violated the status of the citizen of the Kyrgyz Republic, Bolot Temirov. The investigative journalist was expelled from the country on November 23 by decision of the Bishkek City Court.
The Institute of Ombudsman considers it inadmissible to violate the status of a citizen of any person who is on the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic. «Bolot Temirov in no way and under no circumstances could be forcibly, against his will, expelled from the state. The Prosecutor General’s Office must urgently take measures to ensure the steady and uniform application of the guarantees of the Constitution for all citizens without exception,» the appeal says.
Tomorrow, at the whim of any representative of law enforcement agencies, the rights of half a million citizens of Kyrgyzstan, who simultaneously have citizenship of the Russian Federation, will be in jeopardy.
From the appeal of the Ombudsman to the Prosecutor General
It is clarified that the Institute of Ombudsman, since the very beginning of the persecution of the journalist, have been noting that the criminal cases against him were unfounded, contrary to the principles of criminal proceedings provided for by both national legislation and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Procedural violations were committed, which were repeatedly mentioned. «While in some cases, law enforcement officers went beyond the limits of official powers established by law, in others they did not fully comply with the principles of criminal prosecution. The Ombudsman’s Institute has previously noted that the courts cannot make up for investigative errors, procedural violations and shortcomings of the investigation during the trial. As a result of such intentions, the entire sane society of the country witnessed the violation of the rights of a citizen of the Kyrgyz Republic due to the court verdict that was announced on November 23,» the statement of the Institute of Ombudsman says.
The verdict, according to which Bolot Temirov was immediately expelled from the country, was issued in violation of the guarantees of the status of a citizen provided for by the Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the requirements of the Criminal Procedure Code.
A measure was applied in relation to Bolot Temirov, as if he was not a citizen of the Kyrgyz Republic, although, according to Article 11 of the Law on Citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic, he acquired citizenship by birth, because the fact of his birth in Osh in 1979 is not disputed by anyone.
«The issuance of a passport of the Kyrgyz Republic to Bolot Temirov in 2008 is only a formal confirmation of the fact that he is a citizen of the Kyrgyz Republic. It should be especially noted that the cancellation (by the decision of the investigator) for some reason of the national passport issued to Bolot Temirov cannot in any way be considered a deprivation of his citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic,» the Ombudsman’s Institute clarifies.
The Bishkek City Court, by imposing additional punishment in the form of expulsion on Bolot Temirov, violated the requirements of the Criminal Procedure Code.
From the appeal of the Ombudsman to the Prosecutor General
The statement also says that the judges ignored the fact that Temirov had citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic, seeing only the citizenship of the Russian Federation. The judicial board violated the requirement of Article 70 of the Criminal Code, according to which expulsion from the country is applied to a foreign citizen, but only after serving the sentence.
As for Bolot Temirov, he not only did not serve a sentence, but he was not sentenced to it at all.
The Bishkek City Court also ignored the decision of the Plenum of the Supreme Court. Law enforcement officers exceeded their powers, abusing their position by arbitrarily interpreting the court’s verdict, immediately after its announcement, using physical force in a forced and hasty manner, seized the journalist and forcibly expelled him from the country.
In connection with flagrant violations of the status of a citizen of the Kyrgyz Republic guaranteed by the Constitution, Bolot Temirov, the Ombudsman’s Institute officially appealed to the Prosecutor General with an act of response to bring to justice law enforcement officers who violated the human rights.
Ombudswoman Atyr Abdrakhmatova appealed to the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation with a request to assist in the implementation of the rights of Bolot Temirov to timely documentation, legal and other assistance necessary for life during his stay in Russia.
Bolot Temirov was expelled from the country by court decision on November 23. Immediately after the trial, where the verdict was announced, he was taken by force, accompanied by law enforcement officers, to the airport and sent by plane to Russia.
Earlier, the Sverdlovsky District Court acquitted Bolot Temirov on two counts. The case was dismissed on two more, including on a fake passport, due to expiration of the statute of limitations. The court did not apply punishment to the journalist.
