Journalists, civil activists and human rights activists appealed to the President, the head of the Supreme Court, the Minister of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor General of Kyrgyzstan with a call to change the preventive measure for the defendants in the criminal case on attempt to organize mass riots in order to seize power Klara Sooronkulova, Gulnara Dzhurabaeva, Asiya Sasykbaeva and Rita Karasartova.
The authors of the appeal emphasize that they do not raise the question of the legality and validity of the charges, since the case has been classified as confidential, and they do not know the details of the criminal prosecution.
According to human rights activists, they want to draw the attention of senior officials to the need to change the preventive measure against Klara Sooronkulova, Gulnara Dzhurabaeva, Asiya Sasykbaeva and Rita Karasartova.
«According to the Constitution, everyone is considered innocent of a crime and / or misdemeanor until his or her guilt is proven in the manner prescribed by law and established by a court verdict that has entered into legal force. When applying a measure of restraint in the conditions of each specific case, the investigating authorities should be guided by the principles of expediency and necessity, since, according to the Basic Law of the country, the restrictions imposed must be proportionate to the specified goals. Accordingly, a measure of restraint related to deprivation of liberty should be an exception and be applied only in cases provided for by the Constitution and laws, in accordance with international norms and standards in the field of human rights,» the text says.
Activists remind that people under investigation are neither particularly dangerous criminals, nor terrorists or extremists, they only peacefully exercised their right to freedom of assembly.
«When making a decision on the arrest of Klara Sooronkulova, Gulnara Dzhurabaeva, Asiya Sasykbaeva and Rita Karasartova, the investigating authorities and the court did not take into account either the aspects of presence of children, or their age, or their merits to society, or the presence of a permanent place of residence. The most common types of preventive measures include a written undertaking not to leave the city, house arrest, and detention,» they said.
Human rights activists urge to apply a non-custodial measure of restraint during the period of investigative measures and consideration of the case on the merits to Klara Sooronkulova, Gulnara Dzhurabaeva, Asiya Sasykbaeva and Rita Karasartova.
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 arrests began on October 23. Authorities placed 26 people in jail on charges of preparing for riots.
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.
