Human rights activist Rita Karasartova filed a lawsuit in the Bishkek Administrative Court against the management of the State Penitentiary Service and pretrial detention center No. 1. She posted on Facebook.
According to Rita Karasartova, a law passed in 2006 stipulates that individuals held in pretrial detention centers have the right to a 15-minute telephone conversation with their families once a week.
However, she believes this right is not being exercised. She noted that during her time in pretrial detention, she repeatedly appealed to the facility’s management to allow her to call her family.
«As a human rights activist, I wrote for five months, but they never responded, never allowed me to exercise this right. And today, upon my release, I contacted the State Penitentiary Service, because the pretrial detention center is under their jurisdiction. Deputy Head of the State Penitentiary Service Sarchaev asserted in Parliament that all detainees speak with their families by phone, and that this right is being exercised. I’ve been there twice, and neither time was I allowed to call my family. Now I’m going to court. Let them tell me why a right guaranteed by law isn’t being exercised in practice,» Rita Karasartova said.
In September 2025, the Sverdlovsky District Court found Rita Karasartova guilty under Articles 278 «Mass riots» and 327 «Public calls for the violent seizure of power» of the Kyrgyz Criminal Code, imposing a fine of 50,000 soms and five years of probation supervision.
The defense appealed this decision to the City Court, but the appellate board upheld the verdict. Therefore, the sentence and probation supervision conditions remain in effect.
