Arbitrary arrest and subsequent sentencing of Mr. Maxim Kuleshov

Kyrgyzstan

October 28, 2008

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Kyrgyzstan.

Description of the situation:

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources, including the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights (KCHR), about the arrest and subsequent sentencing of Mr. Maxim Kuleshov, Coordinator of the Tokmok Human Rights Resource Centre.

According to the information received, on October 24, 2008, Mr. Kuleshov was sentenced by the Court of Pervomaysky to a fine of 2,000 soms (about 40 euros) for “violating the established order on rallies and assemblies”. He was then released.

Mr. Kuleshov had been arrested on October 23, 2008, minutes after he started a “street lesson on democracy”, aiming at showing citizens how to resort to non-violent methods to struggle for fundamental rights and to protect international human rights and the Constitution. He was subsequently taken to the May Day area police station, where he was charged with “violating the established order on rallies and assemblies” (Article 392 of the Administrative Code) and “non-obedience to police forces” (Article 371 of the Code) and where he remained detained until the decision of the Court. He was acquitted of the second charge.

The Observatory expresses its deepest concern over Mr. Kuleshov’s sentencing, and recalls that he has been subjected to numerous acts of harassment in the past years due to his human rights activities[1]. For instance, Mr. Kuleshov was arrested on December 20, 2007 along with 32 other human rights activists, as he was peacefully demonstrating against the irregularities that marred the December 16 Parliamentary election. On the same day, he was sentenced to a five days’ prison sentence[2].

The Observatory is concerned by these new acts of harassment against Mr. Kuleshov, all the more as they are clear evidence of the ongoing determination of the Kyrgyz authorities to strike down any dissenting voice in the country, and recalls that as a Participating State of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Kyrgyzstan acknowledges that “the [...] UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders [... places] a responsibility [...] on states to adopt and implement adequate legislation and administrative procedures that would provide for a conducive environment for human rights defenders to promote and strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, and recognises “the need for particular attention, support and protection for human rights defenders by the OSCE, its Institutions and field operations, as well as by participating States”[3].

Action requested:

Please write Kyrgyz authorities urging them to:

1. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Maxim Kuleshov;
2. Put an end to any kind of harassment, including judicial, against him as well as against all human rights defenders in Kyrgyzstan;
3. Conform with the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998, in particular its article 1 which provides that “every person has the right, individually or collectively, to promote the protection and fulfilment of human rights and fundamental liberties at the national and international levels”, 6.b, which reads that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others [...] freely to publish, impart or disseminate to others views, information and knowledge on all human rights and fundamental freedoms” and 12.2, which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the [...] Declaration”;
4. Comply with the provisions of the Document of the Copenhagen Meeting of the 2nd Conference on the Human Dimension of the Cooperation and Security Conference in Europe (CSCE) (1990), and guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and other international human rights instruments ratified by Kyrgyzstan.

Addresses:

· Mr. Bakiev Kurmanbek Salievich, President of Kyrgyz Republic, Kyrgyzskaya Respublika, 720003. Bishkek, Prospekt Chuy, 205, Fax: 996 312 218 627, Email: ghpress2@rhl.bishkek.su

• Mr. Igor Vasilevitch Tchudinov, Prime Minister, Fax: 996 312 218 627
• Mr. Bolotbek Nogoybaev, Minister of Internal Affairs, Fax: 99http://www.achpr.org6312663031, 996312288788
• Mr. Marat Kaipov, Minister of Justice, Fax: 996312663044 / 996312656502
• Mr. Elmurza Satybaldiev, Public Prosecutor of the Kyrgyz of Republic, Fax: 996312665411
• Permanent mission of Kyrgyzstan, Rue Maunoir 26, 1207 Geneva, Switzerland, Email: kyrgyzmission@bluewin.ch, Fax: +41 22 707.92.21
• Embassy of Kyrgyzstan in Brussels, 47 rue de l’Abbaye, 1050 Ixelles, Belgium, Tel: + 32 2 640 18 68 / + 32 2 640 38 83, Fax: + 32 2 640 01 31, Email: aitmatov@infonie.be

Please also write to diplomatic representations of Kyrgyzstan in your respective countries.

Paris-Geneva, October 28, 2008

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

The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need. The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.

To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
Tel and fax FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / +33 1 43 55 18 80

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

[1] See Observatory Annual Report 2007.

[2] See Observatory Urgent Appeal KGZ 001 / 0108 / OBS 007, issued on January 16, 2008.

[3] See OP 6 & OP 8 of the Resolution on Strengthening OSCE Engagement with Human Rights Defenders and National Human Rights Institutions, adopted by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly on July 10, 2007.