Tag Archives: political rights

Kyrgyz opposition politician imprisoned for 12 years

BISHKEK, JAN 4 (The Conway Bulletin) — A court in the Kyrgyz capital sentenced Kanatbek Isaev, an opposition politician, to 12 years in prison for corruption after a high profile trial that critics of the government described as a politically motivated farce.

The imprisonment of Isaev, who was arrested in May, five months before a presidential election, further crushes opponents of President Sooronbay Jeenbekov and his ally and predecessor Almazbek Atambayev.

It has also triggered a wave of criticism over the Kyrgyz authorities apparent selective clampdown on corruption which has focused on critics of the government — politicians, businessmen and journalists.

Discussing press freedom in Kyrgyzstan, CIVICUS Alliance, a global network of civil rights groups, said in a tweet: “The new president of #Kyrgyzstan has a choice: continue to attack government critics, or break with the legacy of his predecessor and allow for public discussion on the challenges facing the country.”

Last year, the popular news website Zanoza was fined $400,000 for insulting the president and an opposition TV station was closed down. On Dec. 19, police raided NTS, the TV station of Pres. Jeenbekov’s main rival in the October election Omurbek Babanov. He has fled abroad since his failed presidential bid, renounced his political ambitions and accused the authorities of closing down NTS.

Isaev, the jailed MP, is a former mayor of Tokmok and was a high profile supporter of Mr Babanov before his arrest. The corruption charges date back to 2008-10, when he was Tokmok mayor.

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— This story was first published on Jan. 5 2018 in issue 356 of The Conway Bulletin

Kyrgyzstan jails opposition leader

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AUG. 16 2017 (The Bulletin) — A court in Kyrgyzstan convicted Omurbek Tekebayev, an opposition leader, of various financial crimes. Tekebayev was sentenced to eight years in prison and will miss a presidential election set for mid- October. His supporters have said that the charges are fake and were dreamt up to scotch Tekebayev’s own investigation into the business dealings of President Almazbek Atambayev. Earlier this month, a court jailed Sadyr Japarov, another opposition leader.

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(News report from Issue No. 340, published on Aug. 20 2017)

Tajikistan targets opposition activist

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JULY 18 2017 (The Bulletin) — Human Rights Watch and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee accused the Tajik authorities of intimidating 10 relatives of anti- government activists who had taken part in a conference in Germany earlier in the month to mark the anniversary of the the end of the civil war 20 years earlier. HRW said that local officials had threatened the activists with having their property confiscated and banned them from leaving the country.

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(News report from Issue No. 337, published on July 27 2017)

Azerbaijan jails opposition member

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JULY 24 2017 (The Bulletin) — A court in Baku sentenced Faiq Amirli, a member of the opposition Popular Front for Azerbaijan and the financial director of the Azadliq newspaper to three years and three months in jail for inciting religious hatred after he was arrested in 2016 and accused of holding books authored by exiled Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen. Turkey has accused Mr Gulen of trying to organise a coup last year and has pressured its neighbours into arresting and deporting his supporters.

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(News report from Issue No. 337, published on July 27 2017)

Georgia court paves way to deport ‘Gulenist’ teacher

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TBILISI, JULY 7 2017 (The Bulletin) — A court in the Georgian capital rejected an asylum application by detained Turkish school manager Mustafa Cabuk, paving the way for his extradition to Turkey where he is he is accused of supporting terrorism and being a member of the banned Gulen organisation.

The case has been controversial because it has appeared to confirm that Georgia has bowed to pressure from Turkey to detain and extradite Turks linked to the Gulen movement. Turkish President Recep Erdogan has accused exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen and his followers of organising a failed coup last year.

Turkey has been pressuring allies in the South Caucasus and Central Asia to hand over businessmen and education officials linked to Gulen but until recently only Azerbaijan, its arch-ally, and Turkmenistan have acquiesced.

Georgia, though, has been trying to boost relations with Turkey and Mr Cabuk’s supporters have said that he is just a pawn in a bigger geopolitical game and that he faces being tortured if he is sent back to Turkey where thousands of Gulenists have been arrested. Georgia has also revoked the licence of a school in Batumi linked to the Gulen network and detained a Turkish businessman.

To the frustration of his supporters, the court ruled Mr Cabuk didn’t meet the requirements needed to be given political asylum and that his life would not be in danger in Turkey.

Cabuk was detained in May. He has worked in Georgia since 2002. His most recent job was as a manager for Demirel College in Tbilisi.

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(News report from Issue No. 336, published on July 16 2017)

Kyrgyzstan trials opposition leaders

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JUNE 5 2017 (The Bulletin) — Omurbek Tekebaev, leader of Kyrgyzstan’s Ata-Mekan party, and Duishonkul Chotonov, Kyrgyzstan’s former emergencies minister, went on trial for allegedly taking bribes in 2010. They were arrested in February, triggering a series of protests in the capital Bishkek. Both men deny the charges and have said that they are politically motivated. Mr Tekebaev is the Ata Meken candidate for a presidential election in October.

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(News report from Issue No. 332, published on June 12 2017)

Kazakh activists complain

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MAY 30 2017 (The Bulletin) — Kazakh human rights activists said that a law being discussed in parliament is designed to prevent independent candidates from running in presidential elections. The new law, when it is passed, will block “non-serious” candidates from running. Kazakhstan has never held an election considered free or fair by international observers. President Nazarbayev won an election in 2015 with 98% of the vote.

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(News report from Issue No. 331, published on June 5 2017)

Kazakh human rights defender quits

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ALMATY, MAY 22 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Civil rights activists and opposition journalists in Kazakhstan blamed the authorities for pressuring human rights campaigner Olesya Khalabuzar into quitting an anti- government party she established a few years ago.

Known for her forthright statements, Ms Khalabuzar had been viewed as something of a superstar in Kazakhstan’s small activist scene. She was head of the Justice party that she set up in 2015.

“She’s been pressurised by the authorities,” said one journalist in Almaty who asked to remain anonymous. “The anti-government space is getting smaller and smaller here. This is just another instance of the state pressuring an activist to give up their work.”

Rights campaigners have said that the authorities have taken an increasingly tough line on dissenters, cracking down on people who challenge the authorities.

On May 17, in a surprise announcement, Ms Khalabuzar wrote on Facebook that she had decided to give up politics.

“Probably, people will think that I am giving up because of a criminal case against me this is not the case – these people do not understand my situation,” she wrote. “I am leaving public activity. I want to become an ‘ordinary citizen’ and devote the remaining time to my family. This is the most sacred thing.”

In her post she also said that she regretted some of her actions which she described as “counterproductive” and “short-sighted”.

This year, police have detained Ms Khalabuzar for involvement in what they described as an illegal protest. They have also searched her office and she has been the subject of a civil complaint.

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(News report from Issue No. 330, published on May 28 2017)

Armenian police arrest activist for smuggling missile

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YEREVAN, MARCH 22 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Police in Armenia arrested influential opposition activist Samvel Babyan for allegedly smuggling a surface-to-air shoulder-launched missile into the country.

Mr Babyan’s supporters said that the accusations were absurd and that they were politically motivated. Two other men were also arrested with Mr Babyan.

The arrest comes just days before a tense parliamentary election in Armenia, the first under a new constitution that will shape Armenian politics for the next few years. Under constitutional amendments, power will shift from the president to parliament.

And Mr Babyan, a former defence minister in the Armenia-backed government of Nagorno-Karabakh, publicly supports the Ohanyan-Raffi-Oskanyan bloc, named after three former government ministers who now lead the opposition to the ruling Republican Party.

They condemned his arrest.

“This behaviour exercised by the government is aimed at spreading the atmosphere of fear and affecting the results of the elections in an illegal way,” the Reuters news agency quoted their statement as saying.

Armenia’s security services said that the two men had been caught smuggling the missile in from Georgia, in order to deliver it to Mr Babyan. Although he has denied the charges, Mr Babyan’s reputation as a tough guy will mean that many ordinary Armenia’s will take the authorities’ view.

In 2000 he was sent to prison for 14 years for trying to assassinate a former leader of Nagorno-Karabakh. Released in 2004 he moved to Russia and only moved back to Armenia last year.

Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a war over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Only a UN negotiated peace deal in 1994 ended the fighting, although the peace remains shaky.

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(News report from Issue No. 322, published on March 27 2017)

Uzbek authorities free political prisoner

NOV. 24 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Uzbek authorities freed from prison 72-year-old Samandar Kukanov, described by human rights groups as one of the country’s longest surviving political prisoners. Human rights activist also said that the authorities in Uzbekistan had released Tohar Haydarov, a convert to Christianity, who was jailed in 2000 on drug related charges. Mr Kukanov, who opposed former president Islam Karimov, was imprisoned for 20 years in 1994 on embezzlement charges. This sentence was extended by two years in 2004. The release of Mr Kukanov may have been timed to soften acting president Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s image before an election on Dec. 4.

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(News report from Issue No. 306, published on Nov. 25 2016)