Kyrgyzstan
07.02.02
Urgent Interventions
Kyrgyzstan: death of hunger-striker Mr. Sheraly Nazarkulov and theft of petitions
Case KGZ 290102.3
Follow up to case KGZ 290102
Death / Arbitrary arrests/ Harassment / Confiscation of Property
Geneva, February 7th, 2002
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Kyrgyzstan.
New information
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights, a member of the OMCT network, of the death during the night of February 6th, 2002, of Mr. Sheraly Nazarkulov, a famous Kyrgyz economist and human rights defender, who had engaged in a hunger strike in support of Deputy Azimbek Beknazarov. Deputy Azimbek Beknazarov has been arbitrarily detained since January 5th, 2002, causing massive protests in the country and international condemnation. Separately, the Kyrgyz authorities are suspected of having stolen several petitions containing the signatures of thousands of protestors calling for Deputy Beknazarov’s release.
According to the information received, Mr. Nazarkulov died in municipal hospital No. 4 in Bishkek after a 21 day hunger strike in support of Deputy Beknazarov. Despite pleas from his friends to end his hunger strike, Mr. Nazarkulov reportedly refused as he claimed it was his last means of fighting the totalitarian regime of President Akaev.
According to reports, once Mr. Nazarkulov’s death became known publicly, the hospital was surrounded by members of the National Security Service (KGB), Prosecutor’s Office, and Ministry of Internal Affairs, who reportedly did not allow anyone to enter the hospital, including Mr. Nazarkulov’s relatives, human rights defenders and the press. According to our sources, the relatives who tried to enter the hospital were arrested and brought to the Department of Internal Affairs in Bishkek, where they have reportedly been threatened into keeping silent about these events, in an attempt by the authorities to cover up the circumstances of Mr. Nazarkulov’s death.
Furthermore, the authorities reportedly exerted pressure on the doctors in the hospital to provide a certificate showing that Mr. Nazarkulov’s death was not a result of his hunger strike. Health official Mrrahimov Nazarkulov, from the hosptial’s cardiology sector, who reportedly participated in the autopsy performed on Mr. Nazarkulov, has announced that he died from cerebral thrombosis linked with chronic hypertension, and that food was found in his stomach. A statement by the Ministry of Health and Education has reportedly claimed that Mr. Nazarkulov died from a heart attack, and not from a hunger strike. Our sources refute both official versions of the events, clearly stating that his death was due the hunger strike.
According to the information received, Mr. Nazarkulov’s wife Abdykarimova Nazgul, has not been allowed to claim her late husband’s body, as the authorities are refusing to recognise their marriage, due to the fact that they married according to Muslim traditions, but are not, according to the authorities, registered as being legally married under the State’s system.
According to the information received, on February 5th, 2002, in a separate incident, a collection of petition lists containing over 17,600 signatures protesting in favour of Duputy Beknazarov’s release, was stolen from a car headed from the Aksy district of the southern Jalal-Abad Province to Bishkek. According to the report, a police officer stopped several cars, including the one in question, and ordered the drivers to get out of their vehicles, at which time he took them aside and lectured them on road safety issues. When the driver in question (name unknown) returned to his car, he found that it had been broken into and that the lists had been stolen. A similar list containing over 9,200 signatures, however, had been sent to Kyrgyz authorities in January.
The International Secretariat of OMCT condemns the Kygyz authorities’ arbitrary arrest and harassment of members of Mr. Nazarkulov’s family and the harassment of other persons, in an attempt to cover up the truth about the circumstances of his death. OMCT remains gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Deputy Beknazarov, and the as well as for those engaged in hunger strikes. Furthermore, OMCT condemns the Kyrgyz authorities’ harassment and arbitrary arrests of those who are protesting in support of Mr. Bernazarov.
Brief reminder of the situation
According to the information received, Deputy Beknazarov was reportedly arrested on January 5th, 2002, and was charged under two clauses of the Kyrgyz Criminal Code: clause 177(2) – abuse of power; and clause 185(2) – deliberate detention of an innocent person, following allegations that he had mishandled a murder case, which took place in February 1995, when Mr. Beknazarov was an investigator at the office of the Toktogul District Prosecutor. It is, however, believed that Mr. Beknazarov’s arrest is largely politically motivated, and is a result of his recent criticism of the Government, most notably the Kyrgyz-Chinese agreement, under to which a section of Kyrgyz territory (some 125,000 hectares) was transferred to China, and more recently, he publicly opposed a similar Kyrgyz land transfer to Kazakhstan.
According to reports, a trial has been set to take place on February 12th, 2002, at the Toktogul District Court, in the Jalal-Abad region, Kyrgyzstan, but it is feared that due to the suspected political agenda that is thought to have motivated Mr. Beknazarov’s arrest, he may not be afforded a fair trial. Since the arrest of Mr. Beknazarov, an estimated 621 protestors have reportedly engaged in hunger strikes, with the current number of hunger strikers thought to number around 420 in the Jalal-Abad region and 32 in Bishkek. The hunger strikes in Bishkek reportedly began on January 10th, 2002. A number of protestors have also been arbitrarily arrested and are in certain cases being detained incommunicado in one or more unknown locations.
Action requested :
Please write to the authorities in Kyrgyzstan urging them to:
i. ensure that Mrs. Abdykarimova Nazgul is allowed to claim her husband’s body;
ii. take all necessary measures to guarantee Deputy Beknazarov’s physical and psychological integrity and that of all persons being detained in connection with the case;
iii. order Deputy Beknazarov and the protestors’ immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
iv. put an immediate end to the persecution and harassment of the above-mentioned persons;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and 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. Amangedi Muraliev, Prime Minister, Fax: 996 312 218 627
· Mr. Omurbek Kutuev, Minister of the Interior, Fax: 996 312 663 031, 996 312 288 788
· Mr. Nelya Beishenalieva, Minister of Justice, Fax: 996 312 663 044
Please also write to the embassies of Kyrgyzstan in your respective country.
Geneva, February 7th, 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Follow up to case KGZ 290102
Death / Arbitrary arrests/ Harassment / Confiscation of Property
Geneva, February 7th, 2002
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Kyrgyzstan.
New information
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights, a member of the OMCT network, of the death during the night of February 6th, 2002, of Mr. Sheraly Nazarkulov, a famous Kyrgyz economist and human rights defender, who had engaged in a hunger strike in support of Deputy Azimbek Beknazarov. Deputy Azimbek Beknazarov has been arbitrarily detained since January 5th, 2002, causing massive protests in the country and international condemnation. Separately, the Kyrgyz authorities are suspected of having stolen several petitions containing the signatures of thousands of protestors calling for Deputy Beknazarov’s release.
According to the information received, Mr. Nazarkulov died in municipal hospital No. 4 in Bishkek after a 21 day hunger strike in support of Deputy Beknazarov. Despite pleas from his friends to end his hunger strike, Mr. Nazarkulov reportedly refused as he claimed it was his last means of fighting the totalitarian regime of President Akaev.
According to reports, once Mr. Nazarkulov’s death became known publicly, the hospital was surrounded by members of the National Security Service (KGB), Prosecutor’s Office, and Ministry of Internal Affairs, who reportedly did not allow anyone to enter the hospital, including Mr. Nazarkulov’s relatives, human rights defenders and the press. According to our sources, the relatives who tried to enter the hospital were arrested and brought to the Department of Internal Affairs in Bishkek, where they have reportedly been threatened into keeping silent about these events, in an attempt by the authorities to cover up the circumstances of Mr. Nazarkulov’s death.
Furthermore, the authorities reportedly exerted pressure on the doctors in the hospital to provide a certificate showing that Mr. Nazarkulov’s death was not a result of his hunger strike. Health official Mrrahimov Nazarkulov, from the hosptial’s cardiology sector, who reportedly participated in the autopsy performed on Mr. Nazarkulov, has announced that he died from cerebral thrombosis linked with chronic hypertension, and that food was found in his stomach. A statement by the Ministry of Health and Education has reportedly claimed that Mr. Nazarkulov died from a heart attack, and not from a hunger strike. Our sources refute both official versions of the events, clearly stating that his death was due the hunger strike.
According to the information received, Mr. Nazarkulov’s wife Abdykarimova Nazgul, has not been allowed to claim her late husband’s body, as the authorities are refusing to recognise their marriage, due to the fact that they married according to Muslim traditions, but are not, according to the authorities, registered as being legally married under the State’s system.
According to the information received, on February 5th, 2002, in a separate incident, a collection of petition lists containing over 17,600 signatures protesting in favour of Duputy Beknazarov’s release, was stolen from a car headed from the Aksy district of the southern Jalal-Abad Province to Bishkek. According to the report, a police officer stopped several cars, including the one in question, and ordered the drivers to get out of their vehicles, at which time he took them aside and lectured them on road safety issues. When the driver in question (name unknown) returned to his car, he found that it had been broken into and that the lists had been stolen. A similar list containing over 9,200 signatures, however, had been sent to Kyrgyz authorities in January.
The International Secretariat of OMCT condemns the Kygyz authorities’ arbitrary arrest and harassment of members of Mr. Nazarkulov’s family and the harassment of other persons, in an attempt to cover up the truth about the circumstances of his death. OMCT remains gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Deputy Beknazarov, and the as well as for those engaged in hunger strikes. Furthermore, OMCT condemns the Kyrgyz authorities’ harassment and arbitrary arrests of those who are protesting in support of Mr. Bernazarov.
Brief reminder of the situation
According to the information received, Deputy Beknazarov was reportedly arrested on January 5th, 2002, and was charged under two clauses of the Kyrgyz Criminal Code: clause 177(2) – abuse of power; and clause 185(2) – deliberate detention of an innocent person, following allegations that he had mishandled a murder case, which took place in February 1995, when Mr. Beknazarov was an investigator at the office of the Toktogul District Prosecutor. It is, however, believed that Mr. Beknazarov’s arrest is largely politically motivated, and is a result of his recent criticism of the Government, most notably the Kyrgyz-Chinese agreement, under to which a section of Kyrgyz territory (some 125,000 hectares) was transferred to China, and more recently, he publicly opposed a similar Kyrgyz land transfer to Kazakhstan.
According to reports, a trial has been set to take place on February 12th, 2002, at the Toktogul District Court, in the Jalal-Abad region, Kyrgyzstan, but it is feared that due to the suspected political agenda that is thought to have motivated Mr. Beknazarov’s arrest, he may not be afforded a fair trial. Since the arrest of Mr. Beknazarov, an estimated 621 protestors have reportedly engaged in hunger strikes, with the current number of hunger strikers thought to number around 420 in the Jalal-Abad region and 32 in Bishkek. The hunger strikes in Bishkek reportedly began on January 10th, 2002. A number of protestors have also been arbitrarily arrested and are in certain cases being detained incommunicado in one or more unknown locations.
Action requested :
Please write to the authorities in Kyrgyzstan urging them to:
i. ensure that Mrs. Abdykarimova Nazgul is allowed to claim her husband’s body;
ii. take all necessary measures to guarantee Deputy Beknazarov’s physical and psychological integrity and that of all persons being detained in connection with the case;
iii. order Deputy Beknazarov and the protestors’ immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
iv. put an immediate end to the persecution and harassment of the above-mentioned persons;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and 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. Amangedi Muraliev, Prime Minister, Fax: 996 312 218 627
· Mr. Omurbek Kutuev, Minister of the Interior, Fax: 996 312 663 031, 996 312 288 788
· Mr. Nelya Beishenalieva, Minister of Justice, Fax: 996 312 663 044
Please also write to the embassies of Kyrgyzstan in your respective country.
Geneva, February 7th, 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.