Paris, 25 January 2002 -
This arrest triggered a widespread protest movement. Initially, the civil society reacted by daily peaceful demonstrations or pickets. The militia kept impeding any sort of meetings, by beating, threatening or arresting demonstrators. On January 14th, the protest picket in front of the Parliament gathered 150 people, but the militia surrounded them and threatened them with arrest and fines. Similarly, at a 130-people picket in Kara-Suu, about 20 of them were detained, tried and sentenced to short prison terms or fines, and a dozen others received written warnings from the District Prosecutor.
On January 10th, several people in Bishkek went on hunger strike to demand Beknazarov’s release and rehabilitation, including NGO representatives. The movement rapidly spread to the whole civil society: on the 15th, 25 people went on hunger strike in Bishkek, including two Parliament members, Bektur Asanov and Duishenkul Chotonov and the general editor of Res Publica, Zamira Sydykova. On the 17th, the Legislative Council announced it ceased its legislative activities until Beknazarov’s release. In Kara-Suu, parents massively removed their children from school, as an act of protest. By the 18th, there were 170 hunger strikers all over Kyrgyzstan, some of whom have reached a critical stage.
However, hunger strikers, as well as civil society members who supported them, were harassed and persecuted. On January 17th, hunger striker Chynybekov Talant was arrested and taken to an unknown place. On the 19th, Bekberdinov, spokesman for the Public Committee in defense of Beknazarov and coordinator of the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights, had his place illegally searched by militia officers, who intimidated his family. He was also charged with organizing unsanctioned meeting and threatened with arrest. On the 21st, he was arrested and detained in Pervomay Prosecutor’s office for over 8 hours. Prosecutor Tohtombetov threatened him with issuing criminal charges against him, if he continued with his activities. On the 22nd, the head of Bishkek municipal hospital n°4 dismissed Tolobaeva Batyia, director of the rehabilitation center "Batiya", as she had helped and examined the hunger strikers. Besides, the National Security Services started checking the legality of the "Batiya" Center’s registration, which illustrates the authorities’ maneuvers to neutralize all supporters of the protest movement.
The FIDH urges the Kyrgyz authorities to:
– release Mr. Beknazarov, as the charges against him were fabricated and politically motivated;
- allow medical staff to have access to hunger strikers and put an end to the acts of harassment perpetrated against hunger strikers and civil society members supporting them;
- conform with international human rights standards and therefore guarantee basic freedoms, such as the freedom of assembly and expression.
The FIDH also calls upon international instances to make urgent intervention on the repression exerted on the civil society and to demand that the Kyrgyz government respect the international commitments it contracted regarding human rights and fundamental freedoms.