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Category: kyrgyzstan

  • Dozens Jailed Over Deadly 2020 Ethnic Clashes In Kazakhstan

    TARAZ, Kazakhstan — A court in Kazakhstan’s southern Zhambyl region has handed down sentences to 51 defendants in a case over deadly ethnic clashes that shocked the Central Asian country in February 2020.

    The court on April 27 sentenced eight defendants to prison terms of between 15 and 20 years after finding them guilty of murder and taking part in mass disorder.

    Another defendant was sentenced to 11 years in prison, one to seven years in prison, and seven men were sentenced to five years in prison each. One defendant was acquitted while the remainder were handed parole-like “freedom-limitation” sentences for periods of between two and six years.

    The defendants, according to their roles in the clashes between Kazakhs and Kazakh citizens from the ethnic Dungan minority — a Muslim group of Chinese origin — were found guilty of various crimes including murder, organizing and participating in mass disorder, illegal arms and ammunition possession, robbery, separatism, threatening the lives of military personnel, armed mass disorder, and hooliganism.

    The high-profile trial started in December and was held inside a detention center in the regional capital, Taraz.

    The violence in the villages of Sortobe, Masanchi, Auqatty, and Bulan-Batyr that erupted in early February 2020 following a road-rage brawl left 11 people dead and dozens injured, including 19 police officers.

    In September, seven ethnic Kazakhs were tried separately in the case and sentenced to prison terms ranging between three years and four years.

    Four of them were released from prison in November after a military court in Almaty replaced their prison terms with freedom-limitation sentences.

    In April 2020, an ethnic Dungan involved in the case was found guilty of hooliganism and inflicting bodily harm and sentenced to 30 months in prison. Another Dungan was handed a suspended prison sentence on the same charges.

    More than 30 houses, 17 commercial buildings, and 47 vehicles were destroyed or damaged in the clashes, and more than 20,000 people, mostly Dungans, fled the villages where the violence erupted.

    Many of the Dungans who fled the violence ended up in the neighboring Kyrgyz region of Chui, where the majority of Central Asia’s Dungans reside.

    Kazakh officials said at the time that the majority of the displaced Dungans returned to Kazakhstan several days later.

    Many senior regional officials, including the Zhambyl region’s governor, Asqar Myrzakhmetov, and local police chief, were fired by the central government in the aftermath of the clashes.

    Dungans, also known as Hui, are Sunni Muslims who speak a dialect of Mandarin that also uses words and phrases borrowed from Arabic, Persian, and Turkic.

    Their ancestors fled China in the late 19th century after the Chinese government’s violent crackdown of the Dungan Revolt of 1862-77, and settled in Central Asia, then part of the Russian empire.

    The total number of Dungans now living in former Soviet republics is about 120,000.

    Most reside in Kyrgyzstan’s northern region of Chui and Kazakhstan’s neighboring region of Zhambyl.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Kyrgyzstan Protests Detention Of Two Men At Tajik Border

    BISHKEK — Kyrgyzstan’s Foreign Ministry has summoned the Tajik ambassador and handed him a note protesting the detainment of two Kyrgyz men by Tajik authorities near a disputed segment of the border between the two countries.

    The ministry said on April 26 that Deputy Foreign Minister Nurlan Niyazaliev met with Tajik Ambassador Nazirmad Alizoda to express his concerns over the detainment of the two residents of Kyrgyzstan’s southern Batken region.

    “The Kyrgyz side has called upon the Tajik side to undertake immediate measures to find out all of the circumstances of the incident, hold all individuals responsible for the situation accountable, and inform the Kyrgyz side about the results,” the ministry said in a statement.

    The statement added that Bishkek is ready to cooperate with Dushanbe in efforts to “form conditions in the areas close to the border to secure peace, safety, a friendly neighborhood, and stability.”

    The two Kyrgyz nationals disappeared in the Batken region’s Leilek district on April 24 while constructing a house close to a disputed segment of border.

    It later turned out that the missing men had been detained by Tajik law enforcement.

    On April 25, the men were released and handed to Kyrgyzstan.

    Earlier in April, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon said during his visit to Tajikistan’s Vorukh exclave within Kyrgyzstan that agreements on almost half of the Tajik-Kyrgyz border have been reached during more than 100 rounds of negotiations between Dushanbe and Bishkek since work on border delimitation started in 2002.

    Many border areas in Central Asia’s former Soviet republics have been disputed since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

    The situation is particularly complicated near the numerous exclaves in the volatile Ferghana Valley, where the borders of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan meet.

    In recent years there have been numerous incidents along the border which in some cases involved deadly gunfire.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Kyrgyzstan Bids Farewell To Writer And Journalist Beksultan Jakiev

    BISHKEK — Thousands of people have paid their last respects to to Kyrgyz writer and journalist Beksultan Jakiev, who died at the age of 85 after a long unspecified illness on April 25.

    Prime Minister Ulukbek Maripov, Parliament Speaker Talant Mamytov, former President Sooronbai Jeenbekov, and other officials attended the farewell ceremony on April 26 at Bishkek’s Opera and Ballet Theater.

    President Sadyr Japarov’s letter of condolence to the late writer’s relatives, friends, and colleagues was read aloud at the ceremony.

    Jakiev was known for his books and articles about Kyrgyz culture and history as well as about modern Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia.

    One of his most popular books was about the history of RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service, known locally as Radio Azattyk, and its long-time Cold War-era director Azamat Altay.

    Jakiev was the recipient of numerous national awards and titles, including Hero of Kyrgyzstan, for his contribution to the former Soviet republic’s literature, culture, and journalism.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Majlis Podcast: The Threat To Religious Freedom In Central Asia

    The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) just released its annual report that named Tajikistan and Turkmenistan as “countries of particular concern” and recommended Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan be placed on the U.S. State Department’s Special Watch List, a list Uzbekistan was removed from in December 2020.

    Governments in Central Asia have worked since independence to increase control over religion in their countries and many groups and members of different faiths have been persecuted and denied registration. Some believers have been imprisoned, particularly Muslims, whom the governments of these countries seem to fear the most.

    On this week’s Majlis podcast, RFE/RL Media-Relations Manager Muhammad Tahir moderates a discussion about religious freedom and the lack thereof in Central Asia.

    This week’s guests are: from Washington, Nury Turkel, commissioner at the USCIRF and also a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute; from Oslo, Norway, Felix Corley, the editor of the Forum 18 News Service, an agency monitoring religious freedom in the former Soviet republics and Eastern Europe; from Warsaw, Poland, Muhamadjon Kabirov, the president of the Foundation for Intercultural Integration, the chief editor at Azda TV, and formerly the personal assistant of the chairman of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikstan; and Bruce Pannier, the author of RFE/RL’s Qishloq Ovozi blog.

    Listen to the podcast above or subscribe to the Majlis on iTunes or on Google Podcasts.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Majlis Podcast: The Threat To Religious Freedom In Central Asia

    The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) just released its annual report that named Tajikistan and Turkmenistan as “countries of particular concern” and recommended Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan be placed on the U.S. State Department’s Special Watch List, a list Uzbekistan was removed from in December 2020.

    Governments in Central Asia have worked since independence to increase control over religion in their countries and many groups and members of different faiths have been persecuted and denied registration. Some believers have been imprisoned, particularly Muslims, whom the governments of these countries seem to fear the most.

    On this week’s Majlis podcast, RFE/RL Media-Relations Manager Muhammad Tahir moderates a discussion about religious freedom and the lack thereof in Central Asia.

    This week’s guests are: from Washington, Nury Turkel, commissioner at the USCIRF and also a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute; from Oslo, Norway, Felix Corley, the editor of the Forum 18 News Service, an agency monitoring religious freedom in the former Soviet republics and Eastern Europe; from Warsaw, Poland, Muhamadjon Kabirov, the president of the Foundation for Intercultural Integration, the chief editor at Azda TV, and formerly the personal assistant of the chairman of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikstan; and Bruce Pannier, the author of RFE/RL’s Qishloq Ovozi blog.

    Listen to the podcast above or subscribe to the Majlis on iTunes or on Google Podcasts.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Unable To Get To Russia, Thousands Of Uzbeks Look To Kyrgyzstan For Jobs

    OSH, Kyrgyzstan — Hundreds of Uzbek migrant workers, including many women from the country’s densely populated Ferghana Valley, cross into neighboring Kyrgyzstan every day looking for jobs.

    Large crowds of Uzbek migrants gather near the Dostuk border crossing in the southern Kara-Suu district of the Osh region early every morning.

    It’s where many of the migrants get hired for short-term, informal jobs. Others travel deeper into the country in search of employment.

    Those who arrive early usually find work by midday, says Oibek, a laborer from the eastern Uzbek province of Andijon.

    “On average we make about $10 to $20 a day in Kyrgyzstan. It’s quite good,” Oibek says. In Uzbekistan the median salary is about $130 per month.

    “Of course, there are some days that we can’t find any work and go back home empty-handed,” he adds.

    Oibek says most of the Uzbek migrants in Kyrgyzstan are those who were not able to go to Russia due to the pandemic-related travel restrictions and high ticket prices.

    There is a reasonably good demand for Uzbek laborers in Kyrgyzstan, says one Kyrgyz employer. Sultan Aibashev, a Kara-Suu resident, was in Dostuk to hire a carpenter.

    “Migrants from Uzbekistan agree to do the work for much lower money than our local workers,” Aibashev said. “Besides, they do their work efficiently. There are many skilled workers among them.”

    But not everybody is happy.

    Some Kyrgyz officials say the cheaper Uzbek workforce is putting increasing pressure on the local job market, squeezing out Kyrgyz workers.

    Kyrgyzstan itself faces an unemployment crisis that has worsened during the pandemic.

    A recent survey by the U.S.-based International Republican Institute showed that nearly 60 percent of the respondents in Kyrgyzstan consider unemployment the most serious problem facing the country.

    “We need to provide jobs for our own citizens first,” says Oroz Sheripbaeva, the head of the Osh regional Employment and Social Development Department.

    “People from the most vulnerable segments of the population come to us saying they are unable for find work. Meanwhile, there are so many people from Uzbekistan who are working at our construction sites,” Sheripbaeva told RFE/RL.

    According to government statistics, nearly 157,000 people in Kyrgyzstan were registered as unemployed in 2020. The real number, however, is estimated to be about 500,000 in a country of some 6.5 million people.

    Let Them Pay Taxes

    Officials at the Dostuk checkpoint say some 300 Uzbek nationals, mostly residents of Andijon, cross into Kara-Suu every day.

    Only a handful of them are thought to be entering Kyrgyzstan for a family visit or to go sightseeing. The majority come for black market work.

    It’s not known how many migrants from Uzbekistan currently work in Kyrgyzstan because most of them are hired informally by private employers to build or renovate houses, demolish old buildings, and do other manual jobs. Women are often hired for housework and both men and women work on farms.

    The jobs are short-term, lasting from several hours, such as cutting down trees or spring cleaning, to a few weeks working in construction or agriculture.

    The workers usually stay in accommodation provided by the employer. Those who come from the border villages return home in the evening.

    The jobs are offered informally, with a verbal agreement between the worker and the employer. Salaries are only paid in cash.

    Uzbeks looking for work gather daily at Kyrgyz border crossings.


    Uzbeks looking for work gather daily at Kyrgyz border crossings.

    It’s highly uncommon for either the worker or the employer to register with authorities and pay taxes.

    There are calls among some Kyrgyz officials and others to regulate the illegal labor sector, introducing a mandatory work permit and income tax for migrant workers.

    Migrants from Uzbekistan began coming to Kyrgyzstan — on a smaller scale — in September 2017, when the two countries reopened checkpoints and simplified border-crossing procedures.

    Just a year later, Kyrgyz lawmaker Kenjebek Bokoev said Uzbek migrants working informally bring no benefit to Kyrgyzstan.

    Bokoev said the migrants, who force “thousands of Kyrgyz out of jobs,” must work legally and pay Kyrgyz taxes.

    Until Russia Reopens

    The number of Uzbek workers in Kyrgyzstan is not expected to drop until Russia removes pandemic-related travel restrictions.

    Russia — the top destination for Central Asian migrant workers — reopened its doors to Uzbek citizens on April 1. But they’re only allowed to enter Russia by flying.

    With just two flights a week scheduled for migrant workers, all of the plane tickets for the summer were quickly sold out.

    Central Asia’s most-populous country, with some 35 million inhabitants, Uzbekistan depends heavily on remittances from migrant workers.

    The official unemployment rate in 2020 was 13 percent. But even top government officials acknowledge that the jobless rate is actually much higher.

    An estimated 6 million Uzbeks traveled abroad — mostly to Russia — for seasonal jobs every year before the COVID-19 pandemic struck early last year.

    According to the Transport Ministry, Uzbekistan Airways made 87 flights per week from Uzbekistan to Russia before the pandemic.

    There were also 97 flights a week operated by various Russian airlines at the height of the migrant labor season.

    The most popular and affordable option for migrant workers was to travel by land, with 12 buses and 13 trains a week connecting Tashkent and Andijon to various Russian cities.

    Talks are reportedly under way to reopen the train service, which was suspended in March 2020. But no exact date for a resumption of service has been announced.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Ten Short Films About COVID: Pandemic Inspires Kyrgyz Directors

    In Kyrgyzstan, five directors are making a series of short films about the COVID-19 pandemic hitting the country in the spring and summer of 2020. Ten different stories will tell about how ordinary people experienced quarantine, how they fought for other people’s lives, and how the local health-care system was unready for the outbreak.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Four Patients Being Treated In Kyrgyz Hospitals For Poisoning With Toxic Root Promoted By President

    BISHKEK — Four patients are being treated in hospitals in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, after consuming a toxic root that had been promoted by President Sadyr Japarov as an “effective” cure to treat COVID-19.

    Doctors said on April 21 that Duishon Abdyldaev, 63, was being treated for poisoning with aconite root at the National Cardiology and Therapy Center, while three other patients, whose identities were not disclosed, were being treated for poisoning with the highly toxic root at the toxicology department of the Bishkek Trauma and Orthopedic Center.

    The department’s main physician, Ulan Ismanov, told RFE/RL that two of the patients were a married couple.

    All four patients were rushed to hospital the previous day.

    On April 15, Japarov said in a post on Facebook that the root had proven to be an “effective” method to treat COVID-19.

    The entry contained a video showing men without protective equipment bottling a solution with extracts from the aconite root, warning that drinking the solution while it is cold might result in death.

    The next day, Health Minister Alymkadyr Beishenaliev announced at a press conference that such a concoction had been given to hundreds of coronavirus-infected patients.

    He also sipped from a cup containing the poisonous root’s extract in front of journalists and said that “the solution is not dangerous to one’s health,” if it is consumed hot.

    Facebook said it removed the post “as we do not allow anyone, including elected officials, to share misinformation that could lead to imminent physical harm or spread false claims about how to cure or prevent COVID-19.”

    Japarov’s press service said the account’s owner removed the post “without external interference,” adding that the possibility of using aconite root to treat COVID-19 will be studied by the country’s medical experts.

    Kyrgyz Prosecutor-General Kurmankul Zulushev attended a parliament session on April 21, where he said that q preliminary investigation had been launched into a possible link between Beishenaliev’s press conference and the poisoning of the four people.

    “400 individuals [with COVID-19] agreed to use the root and none of them was poisoned. A judicial assessment of the situation will be made due to the consequences of the situation,” Zulushev said.

    A Kyrgyz vendor sells the indigenous aconite root at a bazaar in Bishkek late last week.


    A Kyrgyz vendor sells the indigenous aconite root at a bazaar in Bishkek late last week.

    Beishenaliev said on April 21 that the four patients hospitalized consumed aconite root before he and Japarov promoted it.

    The World Health Organization’s mission in the former Soviet republic has harshly criticized the idea, saying that there’s no proof aconite root is safe for the treatment of any illnesses, including coronavirus infection.

    Several physicians who spoke with RFE/RL said the use of the root to treat COVID-19 violates Kyrgyzstan’s law on public safety.

    Aconite root is found in China’s northwestern region of Xinjiang and some parts of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

    Some people use the root in herbal soups and meals, believing in its health benefits. But aconite roots contain aconitine, a cardiotoxin and neurotoxin. Consuming aconite root can lead to sickness or even death.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Kazakh Victim Of Attempted ‘Bride Kidnapping’ Fights For Justice

    A 27-year-old Kazakh woman is fighting traditional attitudes in seeking justice against five men she accuses of trying to kidnap and force her into marriage.

    Bride kidnapping is a common practice in Kyrgyzstan and parts of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, even though the long-standing practice is prohibited by law.

    Among the men that Aruzhan — who asked that her real name not be used to protect her privacy — accuses of trying to abduct her in July 2020 is a co-worker at a military unit in the southeastern Almaty Province.

    “I got a phone call from my colleague who asked me to make a cake for his brother’s birthday,” says Aruzhan, who supplements her income as a civilian contractor by baking cakes. “I didn’t have time as I was going to visit a friend, but my colleague insisted that he would give me a lift to my friend’s house if I made the cake.”

    Aruzhan’s colleague picked her up at a village bus stop near her home. As they drove to an intersection near the Kulzhin highway, four other men got into the car.

    The colleague said they were friends of his “who happened to be hitchhiking.” Aruzhan says she became suspicious when the car “took a wrong turn.”

    She immediately demanded the man stop the vehicle. “He pulled over to the side of the road and said, ‘We’re going to snatch you.’”

    “Snatching a bride” — or bride kidnapping — is a banned but widespread custom in some parts of southern Kazakhstan in which a man, usually with the help of a few friends, captures a woman of his choice for marriage.

    Aruzhan says she was left traumatized by the incident and is disappointed in the authorities' attitude toward her case.


    Aruzhan says she was left traumatized by the incident and is disappointed in the authorities’ attitude toward her case.

    In some cases, it’s just a pre-wedding ritual performed by the groom and his friends after getting the woman’s consent. But many cases involve nonconsensual kidnappings, with the victims targeted and forced into marriage against their will.

    Most bride-kidnapping cases in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan go unreported. The victims often stay in these marriages because returning home would bring shame to the woman and her family in the conservative societies in which they live.

    Dreading such an outcome, Aruzhan says she tried to fight back. “I jumped out of the car but the men tried to force me back into it.” She says she resisted their attempts by holding tight onto some racks atop the car, crying, and pleading with the men to let her go.

    Hundreds of vehicles passed by on a busy highway leading to Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, but no one “stopped to help me,” Aruzhan says. “I was begging them for help, but people just recorded me on their mobile phones as they drove by.”

    Finally, Aruzhan’s colleague got a phone call from the police, who demanded the men report to the nearest police station. “We found out later that someone called the police and gave the license plate number of my colleague’s car, and police found his name and phone number,” Aruzhan says.

    The men took Aruzhan to the Talgar district police station. Despite the bruises and scratches on Aruzhan’s arms, police let the men go free.

    Aruzhan filed a formal complaint against the men.

    Police Inaction

    Aruzhan was summoned to the police station two days later. An investigator assigned to the case advised her to withdraw the complaint to avoid “being summoned thousands of more times.” She rejected his advice — but the case was still closed.

    According to documents obtained by RFE/RL, the district police concluded that the suspects in the kidnapping case were not “subject to criminal liability” because they “voluntarily decided to abandon their intended act [of kidnapping].”

    RFE/RL contacted the Almaty regional police office about Aruzhan’s case. The regional police said they supported the Talgar officials’ decision to close the case.

    In September, Aruzhan submitted a complaint to the district prosecutor’s office, accusing police of mishandling her case. A new probe was launched in November. But in March she found out that the authorities had again decided to close it without pressing charges. She was again told the men had not committed a crime.

    The victims often stay in these marriages because returning home would bring shame to the woman and her family in the conservative societies in which they live.


    The victims often stay in these marriages because returning home would bring shame to the woman and her family in the conservative societies in which they live.

    Aruzhan says she was left traumatized by the incident and is disappointed in the authorities’ attitude toward her case. She fears her kidnappers might come back for revenge after her multiple complaints. Since the death of her father three years ago, Aruzhan lives with her mother.

    Many people in that small rural community are aware of the kidnapping attempt and Aruzhan believes police inaction toward her abductors sets a bad precedent. She says it emboldens other potential bride kidnappers who see that men can get away with trying to snatch a woman for marriage.

    Despite her fears and failure thus far, Aruzhan is determined to continue her fight until the perpetrators face trial. In Kazakhstan, nonconsensual bride-kidnapping is a criminal offense punishable by up to seven years in prison.

    “What happened to me can happen to any other young woman here,” she says. “The offenders must be punished for their actions so they don’t try the same thing with other women in the future.”

    Written by Farangis Najibullah based on an interview conducted by Ayan Kalmurat of RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Facebook Removes Kyrgyz President’s Post Promoting Toxic Root To Fight COVID

    Facebook has removed Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov’s controversial post promoting a toxic root for treatment of COVID-19, calling it “misinformation.”

    Japarov’s post in question, in which he announced that his country found an “effective” method to treat COVID-19, was posted on Facebook on April 15.

    The entry contained a video showing men without protective equipment bottling the solution with the extracts of the aconite root, warning that drinking the solution while it is cold might result in death.

    The post was later deleted from Facebook.

    In answer to electronic enquiries from RFE/RL over the disappearance of the post, a Facebook spokesperson said on April 19 that the company removed Japarov’s post.

    “We’ve removed this post as we do not allow anyone, including elected officials, to share misinformation that could lead to imminent physical harm or spread false claims about how to cure or prevent COVID-19,” the Facebook statement said.

    On April 16, Health Minister Alymkadyr Beishenaliev announced at a press conference that a solution with extracts of aconite root had been given to 300 coronavirus-infected patients.

    He also sipped from a cup containing the poisonous root’s extract in front of journalists and said that “the solution is not dangerous for one’s health.”

    The World Health Organization’s mission in the Central Asian nation harshly criticized the idea, saying that there’s no proof aconite root is safe for treatment of any illnesses, including coronavirus infection.

    Several physicians who spoke with RFE/RL said use of the root to treat COVID-19 violates Kyrgyzstan’s law on public safety

    Aconite root is found in China’s northwestern region of Xinjiang and some parts of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

    Some people use the root in herbal soups and meals, believing in its health benefits. But aconite roots contain aconitine, a cardiotoxin and neurotoxin. Consuming aconite root can lead to sickness or even death.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Majlis Podcast: Why Can’t Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan Effectively Combat Gender Violence?

    On April 5, a 27-year-old Kyrgyz woman named Aizada Kanatbekova was kidnapped in broad daylight by three men in Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek.

    The kidnapping was caught on CCTV. Kanatbekova’s family quickly phoned police. And yet almost nothing was done to find her. Two days later, Kanatbekova and her abductor were found dead: she from strangulation and he from suicide, in a car outside of Bishkek.

    Days later, a group of women in Bishkek demonstrated against gender violence, only to have their rally broken up by a group of violent men.

    A few days earlier, on April 1, the body of 19-year-old Muhlisa Adambaeva was found in Uzbekistan’s western Khorezm Province. She had hanged herself after being beaten by her husband and mistreated by her husband’s family.

    Kanatbekova’s attacker had a history of violence that was known to police. And many people knew what Adambaeva had been going through, but local traditions prevented anyone, including her’s immediate family, from intervening.

    On this week’s Majlis podcast, RFE/RL media-relations manager Muhammad Tahir moderates a discussion about gender violence in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, and why officials in those two countries seem unable to effectively combat it.

    This week’s guests are: from Kyrgyzstan, Kamila Eshaliyeva, a Bishkek-based journalist and author of a recent report about violence against women in Kyrgyzstan; from Uzbekistan, Samrin Mamedova of the NeMolchi.uz organization, which works to end violence against women in Uzbekistan; and Bruce Pannier, the author of the Qishloq Ovozi blog.

    Listen to the podcast above or subscribe to the Majlis on iTunes or on Google Podcasts.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Kyrgyz Officials Draw Criticism For Promoting Toxic Root To Fight COVID

    BISHKEK — An effort by Kyrgyz authorities to promote a toxic root for treatment of COVID-19 has been met with criticism in the Central Asian nation.

    On April 16, Health Minister Alymkadyr Beishenaliev announced at a press conference that a solution with extracts of aconite root had been given to 300 coronavirus-infected patients.

    He also sipped from a cup containing the poisonous root’s extract in front of journalists and said that “the solution is not dangerous for health.”

    “The solution must be consumed when it is hot only and in two to three days anyone who tested positive on coronavirus will immediately feel better,” Beishenaliev said.

    The previous day, President Sadyr Japarov announced on Facebook that his country found an “effective” method to treat COVID-19.

    Japarov posted a video on Facebook showing men without protective equipment bottling the solution with the extracts of the aconite root, warning that drinking the solution while it is cold might result in death.

    The World Health Organization’s mission in the Central Asian nation harshly criticized the idea, saying that there’s no proof aconite root is safe for treatment of any illnesses, including coronavirus infection.

    Several physicians who spoke with RFE/RL said use of the root to treat COVID-19 violates Kyrgyzstan’s law on public safety

    Aconite root is found in China’s northwestern region of Xinjiang and some parts of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

    Some people use the root in herbal soups and meals, believing in its health benefits. But aconite roots contain aconitine, a cardiotoxin and neurotoxin. Consuming aconite root can lead to sickness or even death.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • U.S. Embassy Expresses ‘Disappointment’ Over Kyrgyz Powerbroker Release From Custody

    BISHKEK — The U.S. Embassy in Kyrgyzstan has expressed concern over the release from pretrial detention of Raimbek Matraimov, the controversial former deputy chief of the Kyrgyz Customs Service who was placed on the U.S. Magnitsky sanctions list for his involvement in the illegal funneling of hundreds of millions of dollars abroad.

    In a statement on April 16, the embassy said it felt “disappointment at the release of organized crime boss” Matraimov.

    “We would note that Matraimov is the subject of U.S. State Department and Treasury Department Global Magnitsky and visa sanctions for his participation in a corrupt customs scheme in which at least $700 million was laundered from the Kyrgyz Republic, funds which could have been used by the Kyrgyz government for priorities such as health care, education, agriculture, and pensions. The United States remains committed to freezing his criminal assets overseas and returning them to the Kyrgyz people,” the embassy statement said.

    The statement came a day after Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security (UKMK) said a probe against Matraimov was stopped after investigators failed to find cash or real estate belonging to Matraimov or members of his family abroad.

    When Matraimov was rearrested in February, the UKMK said he was suspected of laundering money through the purchase of property in China, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Arab Emirates.

    The U.S. Embassy’s April 16 statement stressed that Washington continues to cooperate with Bishkek to combat organized crime and corruption.

    “In relation to Matraimov, we are working together with Kyrgyz law enforcement to identify properties and financial interests owned by Matraimov that could be frozen under the requirements of the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. The 2019 return by the United States of $4.5 million of [fugitive former President Kurmanbek Bakiev’s son] Maksim Bakiev’s corrupt money is evidence of U.S. commitment to fight corruption and return stolen assets to the Kyrgyz people,” the statement said.

    A Bishkek court in February ordered pretrial custody for Matraimov in connection with the corruption charges after hundreds of Kyrgyz protested a ruling mitigating his sentence after he plead guilty to offenses. People were upset that the mitigated sentence meant no jail time for Matraimov and fines of just a few thousand dollars.

    The court had justified the move saying that Matraimov had paid back around $24 million that disappeared through corruption schemes that he oversaw.

    That decision was based on an economic-amnesty law passed in December 2020 that allows individuals who obtained financial assets through illegal means to avoid prosecution by turning the assets over to the State Treasury.

    The idea of economic amnesty was announced in October 2020 by Sadyr Japarov, then acting Kyrgyz president, just a day after Matraimov was detained and placed under house arrest. Japarov has since been elected as president on a pledge to stamp out graft and enact reforms. Japarov also championed a new constitution — approved by voters earlier this month — that expands the power of the president.

    Critics say the amnesty legislation was proposed and hastily prepared by lawmakers to allow Matraimov and others to avoid a conviction for corruption, while the constitutional changes create an authoritarian system and concentrate too much power in the hands of the president.

    In June 2019, an investigation by RFE/RL, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, and Kloop implicated Matraimov in a corruption scheme involving the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars out of Kyrgyzstan by Chinese-born Uyghur businessman Aierken Saimaiti, who was subsequently assassinated in Istanbul in November 2019.

    A U.S. report on human rights around the world, released in March, spotlighted threats to freedom of expression and a free press in Kyrgyzstan.

    In a section on respect for civil liberties, including freedom of the press, the State Department noted threats to journalists involved in that report, which implicated Matraimov.

    In January, the 49-year-old Matraimov changed his last name to Ismailov, while his wife, Uulkan Turgunova, changed her family name to Sulaimanova. The moves, confirmed to RFE/RL by a spokesperson for Kyrgyzstan’s state registration service, were seen as an attempt to evade the U.S.- imposed sanctions.

    There have been no official statements from lawyers for Matraimov’s family to explain the name change.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Kyrgyzstan’s Hydropower Problems Causing Concern In Neighboring Nations

    Any farmer can explain the problems that come with being dependent on generous rain clouds to water the crops.

    It seems there is often either too little or too much.

    Many people in Kyrgyzstan are about to face the consequences of too little water. In a country where 90 percent of the electricity is generated by hydropower facilities, the problems caused by a long drought do not end in the farmers’ fields but could extend to neighboring countries.

    Kyrgyzstan’s Toktogul hydropower plant (HPP) was opened in 1975, during the Soviet era. It took some 15 years to prepare the massive reservoir and fill it before the four 300 megawatt (MW) units could start producing energy.

    It was one of the earliest attempts to tap into Kyrgyzstan’s hydropower potential, which even today is only being used at 10 percent of its capability.

    The plant has suffered several problems in recent years associated with its aging equipment.

    In December 2015, one of the turbines shut down and, in less than a week, three of the four units had stopped functioning, forcing authorities to ration electricity during the coldest part of winter. The HPP is currently undergoing renovation work that aims to replace or rehabilitate the old equipment and bring the total output up to 1440 MW.

    While the Toktogul reservoir is a source of domestic power for Kyrgyzstan, its water is needed in two other countries.


    While the Toktogul reservoir is a source of domestic power for Kyrgyzstan, its water is needed in two other countries.

    The Toktogul reservoir is in the western Kementub Valley, along the Naryn River that eventually flows into Uzbekistan and merges into one of the two great rivers of Central Asia, the Syr Darya (the other is the Amu Darya), before snaking into Kazakhstan.

    The Toktogul HPP provides some 40 percent of Kyrgyzstan’s electricity, but the water level at the reservoir has been falling in recent years, which will soon result in the reduction and maybe the suspension of operations.

    In August 2017, the reservoir was filled to the maximum, with 19.5 billion cubic meters (bcm) of water. But on March 30, 2021, Kyrgyz Energy Minister Kubanychbek Turdubaev said the level had dropped to 8.7 bcm.

    The new leadership in Kyrgyzstan has been promising to decrease the country’s debt and any additional financial burden is especially unwelcome at the moment.

    Turdubaev called 8.5 bcm the “critical level” where the operation of the Toktagul HPP would be affected. The water level might reach this critical level very soon, judging by the rate it is falling.

    On March 22, Kyrgyzstan’s main electricity provider, Elektricheskiye Stantsii, said the water level at Toktogul was 8.83 bcm.

    Turdubaev noted that the amount of water spilling out of the reservoir has exceeded the amount coming into it for several years and “every year the volume of water is decreasing by 1.5-1.8 bcm.”

    The simplest way to correct the problem would be to close the spillways out of the reservoir for brief periods and allow water to accumulate. But while Toktogul is a source of domestic power for Kyrgyzstan, its water is needed in two other countries.

    Some 80 percent of the water that leaves the Toktogul reservoir goes into Uzbekistan, where it joins the Syr Darya.

    This water is desperately needed for agriculture in both of the downstream countries. Kazakhstan has promised to send up to 1 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity exports, with Uzbekistan offering 750 million kWh to help Kyrgyzstan with its power problem.

    The idea is that this will allow Kyrgyzstan to cut back on the water used for the Toktogul HPP. All three parties seem to be counting on melting snow and spring rain to raise the water level at Toktogul, though there is no guarantee this will happen.

    Toktogul

    Toktogul

    In the meantime, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan also want to ensure sufficient water from the reservoir for this year’s crops.

    As for electricity imports, there was reportedly a deal with Uzbekistan for a swap, whereby Uzbekistan will export electricity to Kyrgyzstan from March to October and again in March and April next year.

    In return, Kyrgyzstan has pledged to send electricity to Uzbekistan during the June-August period for 2021-2023. But Turdubaev indicated Kyrgyzstan will have to pay both countries for electricity imports and said his cash-strapped country cannot immediately make those payments.

    “We explained the situation to them and asked for [electricity supplies] on credit,” Turdubaev said.

    Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have pledged to charge low rates for the electricity, but the new leadership in Kyrgyzstan has been promising to decrease the country’s debt and any additional financial burden is especially unwelcome at the moment.

    Besides that, electricity imports from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan will not be enough to cover the shortfall from the low water level at the Toktogul HPP.

    Turdubaev said other power plants that normally reduce their output during the warm months when HPPs operate will have to keep operating at or near winter capacity, and he specifically named the Bishkek thermal power plant (TPP).

    The coal-burning Bishkek TPP is thought to be a major contributor to air pollution in the Kyrgyz capital, which at times during this winter had some of the worst air pollution of any major city in the world.

    This year, the summer skies above Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek, might be even browner than usual.


    This year, the summer skies above Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek, might be even browner than usual.

    The clean electricity produced by Toktogul helps ease pollution problems in Bishkek and other areas of Kyrgyzstan during the warmer months of the year, but this year the summer skies above Kyrgyzstan’s capital might be even browner than usual.

    Longer term, the current drought is something Kyrgyzstan needs to consider in its grand plans to become an electricity exporter. Kyrgyzstan has exported electricity to its immediate neighbors during years when there was sufficient water for all of the country’s HPPs.

    But the country has much bigger plans.

    President Sadyr Japarov attended a ceremony in Kyrgyzstan’s southern village of Kara-Bulak on April 3 to launch construction of the first high-voltage power transmission line for the Central Asia-South Asia project, better known as CASA-1000.

    CASA-1000 aims to bring some 1,300 MW of surplus electricity generated during the summer months from HPPs in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to Afghanistan (300 MW) and Pakistan (1000 MW). The project is tentatively due to launch in 2023.

    But the current situation at the Toktogul reservoir is a reminder that the water needed to operate HPPs is not guaranteed to be constant. Some in Kyrgyzstan have also noted domestic demand for power is growing in the country and that that should be satisfied before any electricity is exported.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Kyrgyz Powerbroker Matraimov Released From Custody, Case Closed

    BISHKEK — Raimbek Matraimov, the controversial former deputy chief of the Kyrgyz Customs Service who was placed on the U.S. Magnitsky sanctions list for his involvement in the illegal funneling of hundreds of millions of dollars abroad, has been released from custody and the investigation has been closed.

    The State Committee for National Security (UKMK) said on April 15 that the money-laundering probe against Matraimov was stopped after investigators had not found any cash or real estate belonging to Matraimov or members of his family abroad.

    When Matraimov was rearrested in February, the UKMK said he was held as a suspect for laundering money through the purchase of property in China, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Arab Emirates.

    A Bishkek court in February ordered pretrial custody for Matraimov in connection with the corruption charges after hundreds of Kyrgyz protested a previous ruling mitigating a sentence after a guilty plea to no jail time and fines of just a few thousand dollars.

    The court had justified the mitigated sentence by saying that Matraimov had paid back around $24 million that disappeared through schemes that he oversaw.

    That decision was based on an economic-amnesty law passed in December 2020 that allows individuals who obtained financial assets through illegal means to avoid prosecution by turning the assets over to the State Treasury.

    The idea of an economic amnesty was announced in October by Sadyr Japarov, then-acting Kyrgyz president, just a day after Matraimov was detained and placed under house arrest.

    Japarov has since been elected president on a pledge to stamp out graft and enact reforms. Japarov also championed a new constitution — approved by voters earlier this month — that expands the power of the president.

    Critics say the amnesty legislation was proposed and hastily prepared by lawmakers to allow Matraimov and others to avoid conviction for corruption, while the constitutional changes create an authoritarian system and concentrate too much power in the hands of the president..

    In June 2019 an investigation by RFE/RL, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, and Kloop implicated Matraimov in a corruption scheme involving the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars out of Kyrgyzstan by Chinese-born Uyghur businessman Aierken Saimaiti, who was subsequently assassinated in Istanbul in November 2019.

    According to the U.S. Treasury Department, the estimated $700 million scheme involved a company controlled by Matraimov bribing officials to skirt customs fees and regulations, as well as engaging in money laundering, “allowing for maximum profits.”

    A U.S. report on human rights around the world, released in March, spotlighted threats to freedom of expression and a free press in Kyrgyzstan.

    In a section on respect for civil liberties, including freedom of the press, the State Department noted threats to journalists involved in that report, which implicated Matraimov.

    In January, the 49-year-old Matraimov changed his last name to Ismailov, while his wife, Uulkan Turgunova, changed her family name to Sulaimanova.

    The changed names, confirmed to RFE/RL by a spokesperson for Kyrgyzstan’s state registration service, were seen as an attempt to evade the U.S.- imposed sanctions.

    There have been no official statements from lawyers for Matraimov’s family to explain the name change.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Well-Known Kyrgyz Political Analyst Detained On High Treason Charge

    BISHKEK — Marat Kazakpaev, a well-known Kyrgyz political analyst, has been detained on a charge of high treason.

    The State Committee for National Security (UKMK) said on April 14 that Kazakpaev and another person identified only by his initials, M.T., had been detained the previous day.

    Due to classified materials in the case, no further details were made public. If found guilty, the two men may face up to 10 years in prison.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Former Kyrgyz Prime Minister Pays $12 Million In Compensation, Released From Pretrial Detention

    BISHKEK — Former Kyrgyz Prime Minister Kubanychbek Jumaliev, who was charged with corruption, has been released from pretrial detention after he paid the equivalent of almost $12 million in compensatory damages to the state treasury.

    The Birinchi Mai district court in Bishkek made the decision on April 12 after the State Committee for National Security (UKMK) said it had received from Jumaliev cash and real estate with an estimated value of more than 1 billion soms.

    Jumaliev was ordered not to leave Bishkek while the investigation against him continues.

    Jumaliev, who is still a lawmaker in parliament, was arrested in early February on suspicion of abuse of office, money laundering, tax evasion, and illegal enrichment.

    About a month ago, Jumaliev was transferred to a private hospital for treatment of heart problems and high blood pressure. After four weeks in the hospital, he was returned to pretrial detention.

    In October, President Sadyr Japarov, who was serving as acting president at the time, announced an “economic amnesty” under which officials who enriched themselves through corruption could be “pardoned” if they agreed to pay the government.

    If found guilty, the court then takes such payments into account when determining a penalty for the defendant. The court can accept the payment as a sufficient penalty or ask for additional funds.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Kyrgyzstan Urged To Probe Harassment Of Journalists Covering Referendum Vote

    The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is calling on Kyrgyz authorities to investigate the harassment of journalists working for independent outlets while they were covering the country’s nationwide constitutional referendum on April 11.

    Police detained at least four journalists covering voting in the southern city of Osh and in the capital, Bishkek, while election onlookers attacked at least one reporter in Osh, the New York-based media freedom watchdog said in a statement on April 13.

    Kyrgyz authorities must investigate the police detentions and ensure that “all members of the press can cover events of national significance freely and safely,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator.

    “If Kyrgyzstan’s elections are to be seen as free, fair, and legitimate, journalists must be able to cover them freely and without fear of detention and harassment,” she said.

    In Osh, a group of people confronted two correspondents for the independent news website Kloop, Bekmyrza Isakov and Aliyma Alymova, while they were trying to interview a group of voters at a polling station, according to CPJ.

    It cited news reports and Ayzirek Almazbekova, coordinator of Kloop’s election-monitoring program, as saying that the group called the journalists “traitors,” with one woman pushing Isakov, striking him in the arm, and taking his phone.

    When Isakov took out a second cell phone to film the altercation, a man in the group stole it as well, along with the phone of a volunteer election monitor who was assisting the Kloop team.

    Police officers who were present at the scene only intervened after the woman who struck Isakov refused to return the phones except at a police station, according to reports, which said that the two journalists, the election monitor, and the woman were taken to a police station for questioning.

    The woman filed a complaint accusing the journalists of “hooliganism”; the journalists filed a countercomplaint, Almazbekova said.

    Police later returned the two cell phones to the journalists, who were released without charge. However, police kept the election monitor’s phone.

    Police in Osh also detained a reporter with the independent news website Eldik.media, Ayarbek Joldoshbaev, while he was filming at another polling station, according to news reports and an Eldik.media representative.

    Police told Joldoshbaev that he did not have permission from the polling station’s chairman to film there and held the journalist for about an hour at a police station.

    Authorities are continuing to investigate the case, according to Eldik.media.

    In the capital, Bishkek, a Kloop reporter was detained while she was filming at a polling station, according to Almazbekova.

    She said the journalist, Aijan Avazbekova, was held for at least two hours and was released after giving a statement.

    In both Joldoshbayev and Avazbekova’s detentions, police reportedly claimed that the journalists lacked the necessary permission to film.

    But under Kyrgyz laws, media workers have the right to film within polling stations during elections and referendums, CPJ said.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Does The New Kyrgyz Constitution Set The Country Up For Future Unrest?

    The controversial new constitution that returns Kyrgyzstan to a presidential form of government has been approved in a nationwide referendum, but almost everything surrounding the document suggests it may live a short life in a country that has had three revolutions in 16 years.

    Central Election Commission (CEC) Chairwoman Nurzhan Shayldabekova said on April 12 that 79.3 percent of those who cast ballots in the referendum — some 1.03 million people — voted in favor of the new constitution, with just 13.65 percent voting against it.

    Kyrgyzstan has some 6.5 million citizens, so it is possible to question whether the approval of this new constitution represents the will of the people when less than 1-in-6 citizens voted for it.

    Only 30 percent of Kyrgyzstan’s eligible voters needed to participate for the April 11 referendum to be declared legitimate. Preliminary results show some 37.1 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots in the poll, as local elections and the referendum were held simultaneously.

    That is slightly less than the approximately 39 percent who turned out for the January 10 election in which voters chose a new president and decided to hold the constitutional referendum.

    Some 1.35 million people cast ballots in January, with 81.44 percent — about 1.1 million people — voting in favor of holding the referendum.

    But controversy surrounded the new constitution from the very beginning.

    Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and his wife, Aigul Asanbaeva, cast their ballots at a polling station in Bishkek.


    Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and his wife, Aigul Asanbaeva, cast their ballots at a polling station in Bishkek.

    Shortly after being freed from jail by a mob during the unrest that followed the fraudulent October 4 parliamentary elections, Sadyr Japarov — who was subsequently elected president in January — suggested changing the semi-parliamentary form of government that Kyrgyzstan has had since 2010 to a presidential one under a new constitution.

    The newly approved constitution is very similar to what Kyrgyzstan had under former Presidents Askar Akaev and Kurmanbek Bakiev, both of whom were chased from power partly due to amendments to the constitution that gave them more power.

    Japarov and others argued that the 2010 constitution, which was also adopted in a referendum, created a parliament filled with deputies who bought their seats and mainly bickered, accomplishing very little.

    The October 4 polls were eventually annulled after large demonstrations. With their mandates expiring and no replacement elections scheduled, the parliamentary deputies who were elected in 2015 voted to extend their mandates, which were to expire on October 28.

    Many legal experts say that action puts into question every decision this parliament has made since its term was extended.

    The same parliament then passed the draft of the new constitution on all three readings in December over the course of a few days, which violated the constitution that was still in effect.

    Several changes were also made to the draft constitution after it had been approved by parliament, which many of its detractors note.

    Furthermore, the decision in late November to form a Constitutional Chamber and the subsequent selection of its 89 members has also been called into question.

    Many also wonder how much, if any, of the public’s opinion played a role in drafting the new constitution, which was also supposed to be put up for public discussion before it was approved by parliament. But that was not done.

    That is in great contrast to the 2010 constitution, which civil society and other public groups contributed to during the drafting stage.

    WATCH: October’s Upheaval In Kyrgyzstan Followed Two Revolutions This Century

    Polls conducted in the days leading up to the April 11 referendum indicated most people did not know very much about the changes contained in the new constitution.

    Fresh parliamentary elections that were originally scheduled to be held just days after the October 4 elections were later postponed.

    It now seems new parliamentary elections will take place no sooner than this summer, which is strange since it was the popular resistance to the October 4 parliamentary elections that started Kyrgyzstan down its current path that led to the new constitution being approved.

    Parliament loses many of its powers under the constitution approved on April 11, which also reduces the number of seats in the body from 120 to 90.

    It is not difficult to see that there is ample ground for people to question the legitimacy of this new constitution, something Kyrgyz citizens could do if the become dissatisfied with the new president and his government.

    Opponents of the new constitution will say that the constitution was pushed through by a leader who was in prison until October 4; drafted by a group that the public had no role in appointing; approved by a parliament whose mandate had expired; altered after that approval; and endorsed by less than 16 percent of the country’s population in a referendum.

    In 2005, 2010, and 2020, such dissatisfaction led to the ousting of the country’s leaders.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Kyrgyz President Votes In Referendum On New Constitution

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Bishkek Police Chief Sacked, Officers Punished Over Kidnapped ‘Bride’ Killing In Kyrgyzstan

    The police chief of the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, has been sacked and dozens of other senior officers punished over the handling of a suspected murder-suicide that has mobilized public anger over the ongoing practice of “bride kidnapping.”

    The Interior Ministry on April 10 said it had relieved Bishkek police chief Bakyt Matmusaev of his duties, alongside three other senior police officials in the capital. Another 40 police officers and officials were reprimanded.

    Earlier this week, outraged protesters intensified calls for officials all the way up to Interior Minister Ulan Niyazbekov to be fired over negligence in the death of 27-year-old Aizada Kanatbekova.

    Niyazbekov, who earlier this week admitted he bears “moral responsibility” for what happened to Kanatbekova, saved his job.

    The bodies of Kanatbekova and the man who is thought to have abducted her with the help of accomplices in broad daylight in the capital were found in the getaway car on April 7, two days after the kidnapping.

    Investigators believe 36-year-old Zamirbek Tengizbaev strangled Kanatbekova with a shirt and then committed suicide by cutting a vein. They also have said that Tengizbaev had three previous criminal convictions in Russia.

    Four people have been detained on suspicion of helping snatch Kanatbekova on the street on April 5, an event that was caught by surveillance cameras that also showed passersby failing to help stop the kidnapping.

    The fact that police had failed to find the suspect even though the kidnapping had been caught on camera with the car model and number plates clearly visible added to outrage over how the case was handled.

    Relatives of Kanatbekova have described a casually dismissive approach by an investigator at a crucial juncture when the young woman was still alive and able to call them.

    Kanatbekova’s mother, Nazgul Shakenova, and an aunt told RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service that Kanatbekova phoned them separately almost 12 hours after her abduction.

    She told them that her kidnapper, who initially intended to take her to the southern city of Osh, had agreed to release her and they were on their way back to Bishkek.

    The women said they immediately called the investigator assigned to the case — identified as “Olarbek” — in hopes that the calls could help locate Kanatbekova but the officer responded dismissively.

    Fluent in four languages, Kanatbekova was an only daughter and a graduate of the Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University in Bishkek.

    Kyrgyzstan sees thousands of bride kidnappings each year despite criminalization of the practice in 2013.

    The UN Development Program and rights groups have highlighted the ongoing prevalence in Kyrgyz society of the practice, which they say often leads to marital rape, domestic violence, and other ills.

    One of the most notorious cases involved the stabbing death in 2018 of 20-year-old university student Burulai Turdaaly Kyzy by a man who was trying to force her into marriage.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • No Plans To Swap Volatile Vorukh Exclave For Kyrgyz Land, Tajik President Tells Residents

    ISFARA, Tajikistan — Tajik President Emomali Rahmon has assured residents of the country’s volatile Vorukh exclave within Kyrgyzstan that it will not be part of any land swap between the neighboring countries as they seek a solution to halt border disputes that frequently turn violent.

    Rahmon’s statement during a trip to meet with residents of the exclave on April 9 comes weeks after a top Kyrgyz official publicly stated that Bishkek is ready to include the exclave in a land exchange.

    “There have not been any talks about the possible exchange of Vorukh for another territory in the last 19 years [since the border delimitation negotiations started], and there is no possibility for it. I am making this statement because of various reports have been spread via the media regarding the issue recently. Border demarcation is a long process and there is no place for emotions in the matter,” Rahmon said, calling on Vorukh residents to live “peacefully” with those on the other side of the border.

    Rahmon added that agreements on almost half of the Tajik-Kyrgyz border issues have been reached during more than 100 rounds of negotiations held between Dushanbe and Bishkek since border delimitation talks started in 2002.

    Rahmon also said that Tajikistan had fully finished all work outlined in a joint road map on border delimitation agreed on between the two countries in 2016 and accused Bishkek of failing to stick to the plan for “unknown reasons.”

    On March 26, the chief of Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security, Kamchybek Tashiev, said that Bishkek is ready to give 12,000 hectares of land from Kyrgyzstan’s southern region of Batken to Tajikistan in exchange for the territory of Vorukh.

    Tashiev also said that Kyrgyzstan’s long-standing border issues with another neighbor, Uzbekistan, had been “100 percent fully resolved” after talks in Tashkent.

    Many border areas in Central Asia’s former Soviet republics have been disputed since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

    The situation is particularly complicated near the numerous exclaves in the volatile Ferghana Valley, where the borders of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan meet.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Kyrgyz Prosecutors Open Negligence Case After Kidnapped ‘Bride’ Killing

    Prosecutors in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, have launched a criminal investigation into possible official negligence in the case of a suspected murder-suicide that has mobilized public anger over the ongoing practice of “bride kidnapping.”

    The bodies of 27-year-old Aizada Kanatbekova and the man who is thought to have abducted her along with accomplices in broad daylight in the capital were found in the getaway car on April 7, two days after the kidnapping.

    An investigation oversight agency said on its website late on April 8 that the negligence investigation was handed over to the local office of the Kyrgyz State Committee for National Security (UKMK).

    The tragedy sparked protests in several cities and calls for dismissals, including that of Interior Minister Ulan Niyazbekov.

    Investigators believe 36-year-old Zamirbek Tengizbaev strangled Kanatbekova with a shirt and then committed suicide by cutting a vein.

    They also have said that Tengizbaev had three previous criminal convictions in Russia.

    Four people have been detained on suspicion of helping abduct Kanatbekova on the street on April 5, an event that was caught by surveillance cameras that also showed passersby failing to help stop the kidnapping.

    Kanatbekova was an only daughter and a graduate of the Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University in Bishkek.

    Kyrgyzstan sees thousands of bride kidnappings each year despite criminalization of the practice in 2013.

    The UN Development Program and rights groups have highlighted the ongoing prevalence in Kyrgyz society of the practice, which they say often leads to marital rape, domestic violence, and other ills.

    One of the most notorious cases involved the stabbing death in 2018 of 20-year-old university student Burulai Turdaaly Kyzy by a man who was trying to force her into marriage.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Missing Woman And Kidnapper Found Dead, Setting Off Protests In Kyrgyzstan

    Demonstrations have broken out in Kyrgyzstan after the bodies of a young woman and her suspected abductor were discovered after a two-day search. The woman was abducted on a city street by several people in an apparent instance of “bride kidnapping,” a banned but still common practice in which victims can be forced into marriage. Authorities say they suspect a murder-suicide.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Kyrgyz Protests After Bodies Of ‘Bride,’ Kidnapper Found

    Demonstrations have broken out in Kyrgyzstan after the bodies of a young woman and her suspected abductor have been discovered after a two-day search that appears to highlight the ongoing — but banned — practice of “bride kidnapping.”

    One of the bodies, found in a car near a remote field in the Chui region on April 7, showed signs of strangulation and the other had knife wounds.

    Authorities said they suspect a murder-suicide.

    WATCH: Live stream of the protests from RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service

    Civil society groups and other Kyrgyz have responded with urgent calls for authorities and society to crack down on the persistent practice of such kidnappings.

    Demonstrators assembled in several cities on April 8, including in front of the Interior Ministry in the capital, Bishkek, and outside a police station in the southern city of Osh.

    In the capital, protesters are demanding the resignation of Interior Minister Ulan Niyazbekov.

    Police said the car at the center of a search since 27-year-old Aizada Kanatbekova was abducted by several people on the streets of Bishkek on April 5 was found by a shepherd.

    “A local shepherd saw the car on April 5 and 6 and thought it was stuck in the mud,” police said. “Only on April 7 did he approach the car and see the corpses of a woman and a man in the cabin, after which he immediately reported it to the police.”

    The suspect who hoped to press her into marriage is reported to have been 31 years old.

    Kyrgyzstan sees thousands of bride kidnappings each year despite its criminalization in 2013.

    Activists say the practice often leads to marital rape, domestic violence, and other traumas.

    The UN Development Program estimated in 2019 that about 14 percent of Kyrgyz women under the age of 24 were married under some form of coercion.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Governments In Europe, Central Asia Used Pandemic To Clamp Down On Human Rights, Amnesty International Report Says

    Amnesty International says some measures to tackle the coronavirus pandemic have aggravated existing patterns of abuses and inequalities in Europe and Central Asia, where a number of governments used the crisis “as a smokescreen for power grabs, clampdowns on freedoms, and a pretext to ignore human rights obligations.”

    Government responses to COVID-19 “exposed the human cost of social exclusion, inequality, and state overreach,” the London-based watchdog said in its annual report released on April 7.

    According to the report, The State of the World’s Human Rights, close to half of all countries in the region have imposed states of emergency related to COVID-19, with governments restricting rights such as freedom of movement, expression, and peaceful assembly.

    The enforcement of lockdowns and other public health measures “disproportionately” hit marginalized individuals and groups who were targeted with violence, identity checks, quarantines, and fines.

    Roma and people on the move, including refugees and asylum seekers, were placed under discriminatory “forced quarantines” in Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Greece, Hungary, Russia, Serbia, and Slovakia.

    Law enforcement officials unlawfully used force along with other violations in Belgium, France, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Romania, and Spain.

    In Azerbaijan, arrests on politically motivated charges intensified “under the pretext” of containing the pandemic.

    In countries where freedoms were already severely circumscribed, last year saw further restrictions.

    Russian authorities “moved beyond organizations, stigmatizing individuals also as ‘foreign agents’ and clamped down further on single person pickets.”

    Meanwhile, authorities in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan adopted or proposed new restrictive laws on assembly.

    Belarusian police responded to mass protests triggered by allegations of election fraud with “massive and unprecedented violence, torture and other ill-treatment.”

    “Independent voices were brutally suppressed as arbitrary arrests, politically motivated prosecutions and other reprisals escalated against opposition candidates and their supporters, political and civil society activists and independent media,” the report said.

    Across the region, governments in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, France, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan “misused existing and new legislation to curtail freedom of expression.”

    Governments also took insufficient measures to protect journalists and whistle-blowers, including health workers, and sometimes targeted those who criticized government responses to the pandemic. This was the case in Albania, Armenia, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

    In Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, medical workers “did not dare speak out against already egregious freedom of expression restrictions.”

    Erosion Of Judicial Independence

    Amnesty International said that governments in Poland, Hungary, Turkey, and elsewhere continued to take steps in 2020 that eroded the independence of the judiciary. This included disciplining judges or interfering with their appointment for demonstrating independence, criticizing the authorities, or passing judgments that went against the wishes of the government.

    In Russia and in “much” of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, violations of the right to a fair trial remained “widespread” and the authorities cited the pandemic to deny detainees meetings with lawyers and prohibit public observation of trials.

    In Belarus, “all semblance of adherence to the right to a fair trial and accountability was eroded.”

    “Not only were killings and torture of peaceful protesters not investigated, but authorities made every effort to halt or obstruct attempts by victims of violations to file complaints against perpetrators,” the report said.

    Human Rights In Conflict Zones

    According to Amnesty International, conflicts in countries that made up the former Soviet Union continued to “hold back” human development and regional cooperation.

    In Georgia, Russia and the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia continued to restrict freedom of movement with the rest of the county, including through the further installation of physical barriers.

    The de facto authorities in Moldova’s breakaway Transdniester region introduced restrictions on travel from government-controlled territory, which affected medical provisions to the local population.

    And in eastern Ukraine, both Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed separatists also imposed restrictions on travel across the contact line, with scores of people suffering lack of access to health care, pensions, and workplaces.

    Last fall’s armed conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan resulted in more than 5,000 deaths and saw all sides using cluster munitions banned under international humanitarian law, as well as heavy explosive weapons with wide-area effects in densely populated civilian areas.

    Both Azerbaijani and Armenian forces also “committed war crimes including extrajudicial execution, torture of captives and desecration of corpses of opposing forces.”

    Shrinking of Human Rights Defenders’ Space

    Amnesty International’s report said some governments in Europe and Central Asia further limited the space for human rights defenders and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) through “restrictive laws and policies, and stigmatizing rhetoric.”

    This “thinned the ranks of civil society through financial attrition, as funding streams from individuals, foundations, businesses and governments dried up as a consequence of COVID-19-related economic hardship.”

    The Kazakh and Russian governments continued moves to silence NGOs through smear campaigns.

    Authorities in Kazakhstan threatened over a dozen human rights NGOs with suspension based on alleged reporting violations around foreign income.

    Peaceful protesters, human rights defenders, and civic and political activists in Russia faced arrests and prosecution.

    In Kyrgyzstan, proposed amendments to NGO legislation created “onerous” financial reporting requirements, while “restrictive new NGO legislation was mooted” in Bulgaria, Greece, Poland, and Serbia.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Amid COVID-19 Surge, Kazakhstan Admits First Patients To Sports Arena Converted Into Hospital

    ALMATY, Kazakhstan — Health authorities in Kazakhstan’s largest city have admitted the first patients into a sports stadium that has been converted into a COVID-19 hospital as infection cases have multiplied, officials in Almaty said on March 31.

    The transformed Halyq Arena has 1,000 beds. It is hoped it can alleviate overcrowding spurred by the recent surge in cases.

    It opened as a 3,000-seat, double-domed arena for ice hockey and other events in 2016.

    More than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases have been registered in the past two days in the city, which fell into “red zone” status of the national coronavirus task force.

    Kazakhstan embarked last month on its vaccine campaign, using Russia’s Sputnik V injection, with plans to introduce a nationally produced vaccine later.

    By March 31, the number of registered coronavirus cases in Kazakhstan had reached 244,981, including 3,046 deaths, making it the worst-hit country in Central Asia, according to official figures.

    But the statistics among some of its neighbors strain credulity, including Turkmenistan’s claim that it has had zero COVID-19 cases even as suspicious deaths mount and local health facilities show signs of overcrowding in the tightly controlled country.

    National vaccination programs have begun in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan in the past week, both with Chinese vaccines.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • UN Envoy Urges New Kyrgyz President To Create Joint Entity For Rights Dialogue

    BISHKEK — Natalia Gherman, the UN secretary-general’s special representative for Central Asia, has proposed to Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov the establishment of a UN-Kyrgyzstan Human Rights Dialogue.

    Gherman, who also heads the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia, held talks with Japarov in Bishkek on March 30, according to the Kyrgyz presidential press service.

    The sides also discussed reforms initiated by Japarov after he took power following predecessor Sooronbai Jeenbekov’s forced resignation in mid-October amid anti-government rallies protesting the official results of parliamentary elections.

    Japarov, who assumed power through a chaotic handover whose legitimacy was disputed by critics, won a rapidly organized presidential election on January 10 that coincided with a referendum on a return to a presidential system.

    The proposed constitutional changes aim to significantly widen presidential powers and extend the number of allowable presidential terms from one to two.

    The amendments also envisage the creation of a so-called People’s Kurultai (Assembly), described as “a consultative and coordinating organ” controlled by the president.

    A Constitutional Court would also be created and the number of lawmakers in the legislature reduced from 120 to 90.

    Many in Kyrgyzstan have criticized Japarov, saying that he is looking to impose a more authoritarian system of rule by changing the constitution. Japarov has rejected such accusations.

    The constitutional amendments are facing a nationwide referendum scheduled for April 11.

    Gherman emphasized that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres continues to closely monitor developments in Kyrgyzstan since the October political crisis.

    She praised Kyrgyzstan’s recent move to allow the transfer of 79 children born to Kyrgyz citizens who joined the Islamic State extremist group in Iraq.

    Gherman also expressed UN readiness to assist Bishkek’s anti-pandemic efforts.

    Japarov assured Gherman that rights and freedoms in Kyrgyzstan, including freedom of speech, as well as all of his country’s international commitments are respected, and expressed interest to cooperate with UN entities.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • China Ships More Goods Via Russian, Central Asian Land Routes As Sea Costs Rise

    Chinese companies have been sending more goods by rail through Russia and Central Asia in recent months as the cost of shipping by sea increases.

    China sent more than 2,000 freight trains to Europe during the first two months of 2021, double the rate a year earlier when the coronavirus first hit, the Financial Times reported.

    An equipment manufacturer in the Yiwu in eastern China told the paper that prices for sea transport have “skyrocketed” since last year as the coronavirus spurred demand in Europe for electronics and other home appliances.

    Meanwhile, sea transportation times have doubled, the manufacturer said.

    An agent providing export services in Shenzhen said that between 20 and 30 percent of her clients had switched from sea to rail.

    Sea transport has become the focus of international attention after a ship became stuck in the Suez Canal, blocking all traffic. The Suez Canal offers the shortest route by sea from Asia to Europe.

    Despite the jump in the use of rail transport, it still accounts for a small fraction of total goods exported from China to Europe. And it may not last.

    The Shenzhen agent said she expected clients to return to shipping routes when the pandemic eased.

    With reporting by the Financial Times

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Majlis Podcast: New Rules In Kazakhstan, Death Threats In Kyrgyzstan — The Problems Facing Central Asian Journalists

    The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) released separate reports on Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan on March 23.

    Relative to Central Asia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have the most media-friendly environments but the CPJ reports highlight various problems. In Kazakhstan, for example, the government has been limiting the ability of journalists to do their job. Meanwhile, troll factories have been operating in Kyrgyzstan to discredit the work of some reporters, and at least one journalist says death threats are being posted on his social network accounts.

    The situation is still grim for independent media in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan remain grim, although some outlets in Uzbekistan have been testing the limits of what can and cannot be reported.

    On this week’s Majlis Podcast, RFE/RL media-relations manager Muhammad Tahir moderates a discussion on the problems media outlets and journalists face in Central Asia.

    This week’s guests are: from Kazakhstan, Diana Okremova, the director of the Legal Media Center in Nur-Sultan; from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Timur Toktonaliev, the Central Asia editor for the Institute for War and Peace Reporting; from New York, Gulnoza Said, the Central Asia coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists; and Bruce Pannier, the author of the Qishloq Ovozi blog.

    Listen to the podcast above or subscribe to the Majlis on iTunes or on Google Podcasts.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.