Ongoing judicial harassment of the human rights organisations ADC "Memorial" and Bir Duino Kyrgyzstan

KGZ 001 /0918 / OBS 118

Judicialharassment

Kyrgyzstan

September 28, 2018

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, apartnership of FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requestsyour urgent intervention in the following situation in Kyrgyzstan.

Brief description of the situation:

TheObservatory has been informed by reliable sources about the ongoing judicial harassment ofthe human rights organisations Anti-Discrimination Centre "Memorial"(ADC "Memorial")[1]and Bir Duino Kyrgyzstan[2].

According to the informationreceived, on January 2017 an Oktyabrski District Court of Bishkek declared analternative report submitted to the United Nations Committee on the Rights ofMigrant Workers as “extremist material” and banned the activities of ADC"Memorial" in Kyrgyzstan. TheKyrgyz authorities did not notify either ADC "Memorial" or Bir DuinoKyrgyzstan of the Court’s decision. Thus, the right of said human rightsorganisations to defend themselves in court and to appeal the decision withinlegally established deadlines was violated. The information about the courtruling became known to human rights organisations accidentally in May 2018.

Analternative report was submitted to the UN by ADC "Memorial" and BirDuino Kyrgyzstan in 2015 for the 22thsession of the UN Committee on Migrant Workers. Following the Court’s decision,the report which focuses on the violation of rights of Kyrgyz migrants inRussia was placed on the “List of extremist materials”, as published in aspecific section of the website of the Ministry of Justice of Kyrgyzstan[3].Under Kyrgyz law the diffusion of extremist materials entails criminalpenalties under Articles 1 and 13 of the Law “On counteracting extremist activities”.

In May 2018, during a visit toKyrgyzstan, the United Nations Assistant-Secretary General raised the questionwith the Government[4]and on June 25, 2018, the UN Committee on Migrant Workers addressed thegovernment of Kyrgyzstan to express its concerns regarding this decision. Noreaction is known to have followed from the government.

TheObservatory expresses its deep concern over the fact that human right reports,including alternative reports submitted to the United Nations, may be qualifiedas “extremist materials” by governments and that their authors may be bannedfrom entering the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic setting a dangerousprecedent for human rights defenders in the region.

Furthermore,the Observatory strongly condemns this unlawful judicial harassment of ADC"Memorial" and Bir Duino Kyrgyzstan, both of which are memberorganisations of FIDH. Accordingly, the Observatory calls on the Kyrgyzauthorities to remedy the violated rights of ADC "Memorial" and BirDuino Kyrgyzstan who are willing to appeal the Court decision.

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities ofKyrgyzstan, urging them to:

i. Putan end to all acts of harassment, including at the judicial level, used tosanction the human rights work of ADC "Memorial", Bir DuinoKyrgyzstan and all human rights defenders and human rights organisations inKyrgyzstan;

ii.Declare the judicial decision adopted in January 2017by the the Oktyabrski District Court unlawful, ensure remedy for the proceduralviolation due to the lack of notification to the two organisations involved inthe case, lift the suspension of the activities of ADC "Memorial" inKyrgyzstan and take all necessary measures toguarantee the freedom of activities of ADC "Memorial" in Kyrgyzstan;

iii. Ensurethat human rights reports, including those submitted to the UN as part of thehuman rights mechanisms ratified by Kyrgyzstan, are not placed in the list ofextremist materials;

iv. Comply with all theprovisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by theUnited Nations General Assembly on December 9, 1998, in particular with itsArticles 1, 5(c) and 12.2;

v. Ensure in all circumstancesrespect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance withinternational human rights standards and international instruments ratified byKyrgyzstan.

Addresses:

• Mr. Sooronbay Jeenbekov, President ofthe Kyrgyz Republic, 205 Chuy Ave., Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Tel: +996 (312) 66-21-31, +996 (312) 62-23-78, e-mail:pisma@mail.gov.kg

• Mr. Kashkar Dzhunushaliev, Minister ofInternal Affairs, 469 Frunze st., Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Tel: +996 (312)66-24-50, Fax: +996 (312) 26-62-80, e-mail: secretariat@mvd.kg

• Ms. Ainur Abdyldaeva, Minister ofJustice, 32 Molodaya Gvardiya Ave., Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Tel: +996 (312)65-18-05, e-mail: ep@minjust.gov.kg

• Mr. Otkurbek Jamshitov, GeneralProsecutor Office, 139 Toktonalieva st., Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Tel: +996 (312)54-24-63, e-mail: statement@prokuror.kg

• Permanent Mission of Kyrgyzstan to theUnited Nations in Geneva, Avenue Blanc 51, 1202 Genève, Suisse, Tel: +41 22 70792 20, Fax: +41 22 707 92 21, e-mail: kyrgyzmission@bluewin.ch

• Embassyof Kyrgyzstan in Brussels, Abdijstraat 47 1050 Brussels, Belgium, Tel: + 32 2640 18 68, + 32 2 640 38 83, Fax: + 32 2 640 01 31, e-mail:kyrgyz.embassy@skynet.be

Please alsowrite to diplomatic representations of Kyrgyzstan in your respective countries.

***

Paris-Geneva,September 28, 2018

Kindly informus of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory for the Protectionof Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by FIDH and theWorld Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). The objective of this programme isto intervene to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rightsdefenders. FIDH and OMCT are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, theEuropean Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by internationalcivil society.

To contact theObservatory, call the emergency line:

• E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org

• Tel and fax FIDH: + 33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18 /+33 1 43 55 18 80

• Tel and fax OMCT: +41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / +4122 809 49 29

[1] ADC "Memorial" is a human rightsorganisation based in Brussels, Belgium, which works on topics relating todiscrimination in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

[2] Bir Duino Kyrgyzstan is a human rights movementworking on the respect of civil and political rights in Kyrgyzstan.

[3] http://minjust.gov.kg/ru/content/950

[4] Annualreport of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports ofthe Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General, A/HRC/39/41, par. 54 on Kyrgyzstan, page 11. @font-face { font-family: Arial;}@font-face { font-family: "Cambria Math";}@font-face { font-family: Tahoma;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoFootnoteText, li.MsoFootnoteText, div.MsoFootnoteText { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: purple; text-decoration: underline; }span.FootnoteCharacters { vertical-align: super; }p.Footer1, li.Footer1, div.Footer1 { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.Header1, li.Header1, div.Header1 { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }span.NotedebasdepageCar { }p.Standard, li.Standard, div.Standard { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.Textbody, li.Textbody, div.Textbody { margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }.MsoChpDefault { font-size: 10pt; }div.WordSection1 { }ol { margin-bottom: 0cm; }ul { margin-bottom: 0cm; }