Kyrgyzstan
10.01.02
Urgent Interventions
Kyrgyzstan: ethnic Uigurs sentenced to death and lengthy prison terms
Case KGZ 100102
Fair trial / Death Penalty
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 received information from the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights, a member of the OMCT network, concerning the results of the trial of four ethnic Uigurs in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
According to the information received, the trial of four ethnic Uigurs, which began in Bishkek’s Svredlov regional court in March last year, came to an end on December 31. Judge Marat Osmonkulov sentenced Uzbek citizen Atabek Ahadov to the death penalty. Turkish citizen Djalal Kasarji, was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment and Chinese citizens Muhammed Toktoniaz and Ablemit Kerim were sentenced to 17 and 16 years of imprisonment respectively. According to our sources, the trial of the four persons was conducted in an unfair fashion.
The four men in question were reportedly charged with: organising the murder of Nigmat Bazakov and several other people; with kidnapping for the purpose of ransom; and with membership in a separatist Uigur organization, based in China.
According to the information received, Mr. Bazakov, the head of the organization of Uigurs in Kyrgyzstan (“Ittipak”), was killed near his house in Bishkek on March 28, 2000; in May of the same year a Chinese businessman was killed, and some other persons were wounded during attacks blamed on the separatists; in June 2000, in the Osh region, a Chinese businessman was kidnapped and $100,000 US was reportedly paid for his release. The four men in question were arrested later on in June 2000 in connection with these events, although there no evidence linking them with these crimes, according to our sources.
It is thought that these persons have been tried for crimes they did not commit; for instance, Mr Kasarji was accused of a murder that he could not have committed, as he was in prison at the time of his alleged crime, serving a 14-year sentence, reportedly based on false charges of having kidnapped members of the KGB.
It is believed that these persons have been arrested and tried for political reasons, as they are accused of being connected with separatist Uigurs in China. According to Chursun Islam, the chairman of human rights organisation “Democracy” in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz and Chinese Governments have reportedly signed a number of agreements concerning collaboration in fighting against separatist “terrorist” views, and it is thought that these arrests and sentences were conducted under the auspices of these agreements.
The International Secretariat is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of the four men in question, notably Mr. Atabek Ahadov who has been sentenced to death. OMCT is also gravely concerned about the Kyrgyz authorities use of arbitrary arrests and detentions, and the violation of the rights of the afore-mentioned persons during their trial, especially as the resulting sentences include a death penalty and very long prison terms. OMCT stresses that it is strongly opposed to the death penalty, and considers it to be a grave form of torture. OMCT calls upon the Kyrgyz authorities to immediately launch a moratorium on all pending death sentences, as they constitute a violation of the right to life, as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments.
Action requested
Please write to write to the authorities of Kyrgyzstan urging them to:
· take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the afore-mentioned four Uigur men;
· immediately repeal the death sentence given to Mr. Atabek Ahadov;
· guarantee the four men’s right to a fair trial;
· put an immediate end to the persecution and harassment of the above-mentioned persons and, more generally, all Uigurs in Kyrgyzstan;
· guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms in the country in accordance with national and international human rights standards;
· permanently abolish the death penalty in Kyrgyzstan.
Adresses
The President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Askar Akaev, Kyrgyzskaya Respublika, 720003 g. Bishkek, Prospekt Chuy, 205 Fax: + 996 (312) 218 627; E-mail:ghpress2@rhl.bishkek.su
Please also write to the embassies of Kyrgyzstan in your respective country.
Geneva, January 10th, 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Fair trial / Death Penalty
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 received information from the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights, a member of the OMCT network, concerning the results of the trial of four ethnic Uigurs in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
According to the information received, the trial of four ethnic Uigurs, which began in Bishkek’s Svredlov regional court in March last year, came to an end on December 31. Judge Marat Osmonkulov sentenced Uzbek citizen Atabek Ahadov to the death penalty. Turkish citizen Djalal Kasarji, was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment and Chinese citizens Muhammed Toktoniaz and Ablemit Kerim were sentenced to 17 and 16 years of imprisonment respectively. According to our sources, the trial of the four persons was conducted in an unfair fashion.
The four men in question were reportedly charged with: organising the murder of Nigmat Bazakov and several other people; with kidnapping for the purpose of ransom; and with membership in a separatist Uigur organization, based in China.
According to the information received, Mr. Bazakov, the head of the organization of Uigurs in Kyrgyzstan (“Ittipak”), was killed near his house in Bishkek on March 28, 2000; in May of the same year a Chinese businessman was killed, and some other persons were wounded during attacks blamed on the separatists; in June 2000, in the Osh region, a Chinese businessman was kidnapped and $100,000 US was reportedly paid for his release. The four men in question were arrested later on in June 2000 in connection with these events, although there no evidence linking them with these crimes, according to our sources.
It is thought that these persons have been tried for crimes they did not commit; for instance, Mr Kasarji was accused of a murder that he could not have committed, as he was in prison at the time of his alleged crime, serving a 14-year sentence, reportedly based on false charges of having kidnapped members of the KGB.
It is believed that these persons have been arrested and tried for political reasons, as they are accused of being connected with separatist Uigurs in China. According to Chursun Islam, the chairman of human rights organisation “Democracy” in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz and Chinese Governments have reportedly signed a number of agreements concerning collaboration in fighting against separatist “terrorist” views, and it is thought that these arrests and sentences were conducted under the auspices of these agreements.
The International Secretariat is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of the four men in question, notably Mr. Atabek Ahadov who has been sentenced to death. OMCT is also gravely concerned about the Kyrgyz authorities use of arbitrary arrests and detentions, and the violation of the rights of the afore-mentioned persons during their trial, especially as the resulting sentences include a death penalty and very long prison terms. OMCT stresses that it is strongly opposed to the death penalty, and considers it to be a grave form of torture. OMCT calls upon the Kyrgyz authorities to immediately launch a moratorium on all pending death sentences, as they constitute a violation of the right to life, as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments.
Action requested
Please write to write to the authorities of Kyrgyzstan urging them to:
· take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the afore-mentioned four Uigur men;
· immediately repeal the death sentence given to Mr. Atabek Ahadov;
· guarantee the four men’s right to a fair trial;
· put an immediate end to the persecution and harassment of the above-mentioned persons and, more generally, all Uigurs in Kyrgyzstan;
· guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms in the country in accordance with national and international human rights standards;
· permanently abolish the death penalty in Kyrgyzstan.
Adresses
The President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Askar Akaev, Kyrgyzskaya Respublika, 720003 g. Bishkek, Prospekt Chuy, 205 Fax: + 996 (312) 218 627; E-mail:ghpress2@rhl.bishkek.su
Please also write to the embassies of Kyrgyzstan in your respective country.
Geneva, January 10th, 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.