06.02.03
Urgent Interventions
Kyrgystan: alleged interference with the voting process concerning a referendum on a new Constitution for Kyrgyzstan
Case KGZ 060203
Arbitrary arrests / Incommunicado detention / Violation of personal integrity
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Kyrgyzstan.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights, a member of the OMCT network, of the alleged interference with the voting process concerning a referendum on a new Constitution for Kyrgyzstan. This has included the arbitrary arrests and detention of members of the Bishkek City public referendum monitoring staff on February 3rd, 2003, as well as the alleged beating and incommunicado detention of the deputy head of the staff, J. Jeksheev, in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
According to the information received, President Akaev is seeking over 70% support for the new Constitution, which our sources claim will consolidate his position in power and diminish any hopes for an end to the impunity of State officials that have perpetrated human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detentions, ill-treatment, torture and even killings, against opponents to the current regime.
According to the information received, on February 3rd, 2003, about 20 staff members from the Bishkek City monitoring staff were arrested during a visit to a voting area. Victor Chernomores, the head of the monitoring staff reported that at 6:45pm, the members of the monitoring group reportedly received a phone call regarding a violation of the voting process from one of their observers who was posted at school #67. They went to election area #11963 to check on the complaint, and were reportedly arrested by the authorities. According to the information received, they were then held by members of the Special Forces near school #5 for four hours. The arrested persons included members of the “Ar-Namys” party: Balalinov and T. Dulatov; leaders of the “Ata Meken” party: O.Tekebaev, D.Chotonov, and the leader of the " Erkin Kyrgyzstan" party B. Asanov. O. Tekebaev and D. Chotonov and B. Asanov are deputies of the Kyrgyz Parliament.
They were allegedly held under the charge of “kidnapping” of one of the voters. According to Chernomores, the staff members were investigating the possibility that one young man had voted more than once. According to the information received, the young man was an unemployed resident of Issyk-Kul, and was not registered in Bishkek. He reportedly voted in the referendum many times because he was promised food in return. However, the promise made to him was not kept.
Further to this, our sources indicate that on February 3 2003 Manas Sharshenaliev Sh from NGO “Jash-Ordo”, A.Abdurasulova from the Party of Youth in Kyrgyzstan and Z.Israilov from the Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society were arrested and criminal cases have been filed against all of them, in which they are accused, along with the afore-mentioned persons, of kidnapping of staff member from Pervomay in election district #1126. They are also reportedly accused of “negative process of voting”. Mr. Osmonaliev, an investigator of the Administration of Internal Affairs is reportedly investigating these cases.
According to the information received, on February 4th, 2003, the offices of the organization of observers, which is in the office of the "Ar-Namys" party at the intersection of Moscow Street and Erkindin, were blocked by Special Forces of National Security Service and Ministry of Internal Affairs officials, who were reportedly also engaged in the surveillance of all visitors to this office. At 17:00 the deputy head of the "Ar-Namys" party, E. Aliev, received a notification to present himself to Investigator Osmonaliev. Aliev was arrested later during the evening of February 3rd, along with the afore-mentioned persons from the "Ar-Namys" party.
During the night from of February 3rd to 4th, referendum monitors could not find their deputy head of the staff J. Jeksheev, who is the leader of the "Democratic Movements of Kyrgyzstan" opposition party. According to the information received, he may have been arrested by the Special Forces at night and has reportedly been threatened and beaten. The authorities are currently refusing to disclose his whereabouts, and as a result, OMCT fears for his physical and psychological integrity.
Finally, early during the morning of February 3rd, a representative of the Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society (Kyrgyzstan), Januzak Abdrasulov, was beaten by unknown people while he was returning home from monitoring the referendum in the Sokuluk district in the western outskirts of Bishkek. It is thought that this attack is linked with the shortcomings that the referendum monitoring groups have highlighted in the district. His attackers people took away about 17 such monitoring reports. The leadership of the Coalition has said that it will appeal to law-enforcement bodies to investigate the beating.
The Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights reported that the referendum should be deemed illegal because of the violations of the electoral process. The same people were allegedly brought by the military in buses to several of the electoral districts in order to have them vote several times. The Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights reports that most people voted without registration. In addition, many people voted at home, because members of the electoral committee were reportedly traveling from house to house with boxes, getting the people to vote. According to our sources, the members of the supposedly neutral Election Commission, who have the responsibility for counting the ballots, are actively engaged in getting people to vote for the new Constitution. Furthermore, it has been stated that on at least on occasion, a deceased person was registered as having voted.
It is reported that independent observers, such as members of civil society, have not been allowed to observe the voting process in most areas of Kyrgyzstan, and that students were pressured by their university advisers to vote several times in different districts. According to the information received, the majority of voters were brought to the referendum against their will and many have been bribed into voting. This reported multiple voting by individuals is likely to have significantly influenced the final results of the referendum.
The International Secretariat of the OMCT is gravely concerned about the arbitrary arrests and detention of persons monitoring the referendum votes, notably the incommunicado detention and violation of the personal integrity of J. Jeksheev, and the willingness of the authorities in Kyrgyzstan to use such methods to control the results of the referendum.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Kyrgyzstan urging them to:
i. guarantee the physical and psychological integrity all persons being detained in relation with these events, notably J. Jeksheev, who is reportedly being detained incommunicado;
ii. guarantee an immediate investigation into the circumstances of these events, including the arrests and allegations of beatings, identify those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply sanctions provided for by law;
iii. immediately put an end to the harassment of persons engaged in monitoring the referendum;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms, including economic, social and cultural rights throughout the country in accordance with international human rights standards.
Addresses
· Mr Askar Akayev, President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Kyrgyzskaya Respublika, 720003 g. Bishkek, Prospekt Chuy, 205, Fax: 996 312 218 627, Email: ghpress2@rhl.bishkek.su
· Mr. Nikolai Tanaev, Prime Minister; fax: 996 312 661 382, e-mail: pmoffice@mail.gov.kg
· Mr. Daniyar Narymbaev, Minister of Justice, Kyrgyzskaya Respublika, 720040, g. Bishkek, ul. Orozbekova, 37; e-mail: minjust@bishkek.gov.kg
Please also write to the embassies of Kyrgyzstan in your respective country.
Geneva, February 6th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Arbitrary arrests / Incommunicado detention / Violation of personal integrity
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Kyrgyzstan.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights, a member of the OMCT network, of the alleged interference with the voting process concerning a referendum on a new Constitution for Kyrgyzstan. This has included the arbitrary arrests and detention of members of the Bishkek City public referendum monitoring staff on February 3rd, 2003, as well as the alleged beating and incommunicado detention of the deputy head of the staff, J. Jeksheev, in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
According to the information received, President Akaev is seeking over 70% support for the new Constitution, which our sources claim will consolidate his position in power and diminish any hopes for an end to the impunity of State officials that have perpetrated human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detentions, ill-treatment, torture and even killings, against opponents to the current regime.
According to the information received, on February 3rd, 2003, about 20 staff members from the Bishkek City monitoring staff were arrested during a visit to a voting area. Victor Chernomores, the head of the monitoring staff reported that at 6:45pm, the members of the monitoring group reportedly received a phone call regarding a violation of the voting process from one of their observers who was posted at school #67. They went to election area #11963 to check on the complaint, and were reportedly arrested by the authorities. According to the information received, they were then held by members of the Special Forces near school #5 for four hours. The arrested persons included members of the “Ar-Namys” party: Balalinov and T. Dulatov; leaders of the “Ata Meken” party: O.Tekebaev, D.Chotonov, and the leader of the " Erkin Kyrgyzstan" party B. Asanov. O. Tekebaev and D. Chotonov and B. Asanov are deputies of the Kyrgyz Parliament.
They were allegedly held under the charge of “kidnapping” of one of the voters. According to Chernomores, the staff members were investigating the possibility that one young man had voted more than once. According to the information received, the young man was an unemployed resident of Issyk-Kul, and was not registered in Bishkek. He reportedly voted in the referendum many times because he was promised food in return. However, the promise made to him was not kept.
Further to this, our sources indicate that on February 3 2003 Manas Sharshenaliev Sh from NGO “Jash-Ordo”, A.Abdurasulova from the Party of Youth in Kyrgyzstan and Z.Israilov from the Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society were arrested and criminal cases have been filed against all of them, in which they are accused, along with the afore-mentioned persons, of kidnapping of staff member from Pervomay in election district #1126. They are also reportedly accused of “negative process of voting”. Mr. Osmonaliev, an investigator of the Administration of Internal Affairs is reportedly investigating these cases.
According to the information received, on February 4th, 2003, the offices of the organization of observers, which is in the office of the "Ar-Namys" party at the intersection of Moscow Street and Erkindin, were blocked by Special Forces of National Security Service and Ministry of Internal Affairs officials, who were reportedly also engaged in the surveillance of all visitors to this office. At 17:00 the deputy head of the "Ar-Namys" party, E. Aliev, received a notification to present himself to Investigator Osmonaliev. Aliev was arrested later during the evening of February 3rd, along with the afore-mentioned persons from the "Ar-Namys" party.
During the night from of February 3rd to 4th, referendum monitors could not find their deputy head of the staff J. Jeksheev, who is the leader of the "Democratic Movements of Kyrgyzstan" opposition party. According to the information received, he may have been arrested by the Special Forces at night and has reportedly been threatened and beaten. The authorities are currently refusing to disclose his whereabouts, and as a result, OMCT fears for his physical and psychological integrity.
Finally, early during the morning of February 3rd, a representative of the Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society (Kyrgyzstan), Januzak Abdrasulov, was beaten by unknown people while he was returning home from monitoring the referendum in the Sokuluk district in the western outskirts of Bishkek. It is thought that this attack is linked with the shortcomings that the referendum monitoring groups have highlighted in the district. His attackers people took away about 17 such monitoring reports. The leadership of the Coalition has said that it will appeal to law-enforcement bodies to investigate the beating.
The Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights reported that the referendum should be deemed illegal because of the violations of the electoral process. The same people were allegedly brought by the military in buses to several of the electoral districts in order to have them vote several times. The Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights reports that most people voted without registration. In addition, many people voted at home, because members of the electoral committee were reportedly traveling from house to house with boxes, getting the people to vote. According to our sources, the members of the supposedly neutral Election Commission, who have the responsibility for counting the ballots, are actively engaged in getting people to vote for the new Constitution. Furthermore, it has been stated that on at least on occasion, a deceased person was registered as having voted.
It is reported that independent observers, such as members of civil society, have not been allowed to observe the voting process in most areas of Kyrgyzstan, and that students were pressured by their university advisers to vote several times in different districts. According to the information received, the majority of voters were brought to the referendum against their will and many have been bribed into voting. This reported multiple voting by individuals is likely to have significantly influenced the final results of the referendum.
The International Secretariat of the OMCT is gravely concerned about the arbitrary arrests and detention of persons monitoring the referendum votes, notably the incommunicado detention and violation of the personal integrity of J. Jeksheev, and the willingness of the authorities in Kyrgyzstan to use such methods to control the results of the referendum.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Kyrgyzstan urging them to:
i. guarantee the physical and psychological integrity all persons being detained in relation with these events, notably J. Jeksheev, who is reportedly being detained incommunicado;
ii. guarantee an immediate investigation into the circumstances of these events, including the arrests and allegations of beatings, identify those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply sanctions provided for by law;
iii. immediately put an end to the harassment of persons engaged in monitoring the referendum;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms, including economic, social and cultural rights throughout the country in accordance with international human rights standards.
Addresses
· Mr Askar Akayev, President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Kyrgyzskaya Respublika, 720003 g. Bishkek, Prospekt Chuy, 205, Fax: 996 312 218 627, Email: ghpress2@rhl.bishkek.su
· Mr. Nikolai Tanaev, Prime Minister; fax: 996 312 661 382, e-mail: pmoffice@mail.gov.kg
· Mr. Daniyar Narymbaev, Minister of Justice, Kyrgyzskaya Respublika, 720040, g. Bishkek, ul. Orozbekova, 37; e-mail: minjust@bishkek.gov.kg
Please also write to the embassies of Kyrgyzstan in your respective country.
Geneva, February 6th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.