Kyrgyzstan
21.06.00
Urgent Interventions
'Kyrgyzstan: human rights activist journalist condemned
URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY
KGZ 003 / 0006 / OBS 057
Condemnation / imprisonment
KYRGYZSTAN
21st June 2000
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, an FIDH and OMCT venture, requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Kyrgyzstan.
Brief description of the situation :
The Observatory has been informed by the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights (KCHR), a member of the OMCT network, that on June 19, 2000, Moldosali Ibraimov, a journalist and activist of the KCHR was sentenced to two years of imprisonment and fined 100 000 soms (2000 US$) , by Jalal-Abad city court.
Mr. Ibraimov was condemned for moral damage under article 127, paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code for writing an article entitled "Did the judge commit a crime?" in the local newspaper « Akyikat » (Justice) ; in this article, he criticised the attitude of the judge of Suzak, Jalal-Abad region, Toktosun Kasymbekov, who failed to conform with the law and the right to a fair trial, in giving a ruling in favour of a candidate who would have resorted to electoral forgery during the last parliamentary elections.
It must be noted that article 127, paragraph 2, only foresees a fine for public defamation in the media to the amount of 100 to 1000 times the minimum wage. The newspaper « Akyikat » was also fined 100 000 soms (2000 US$), for publishing this article.
According to the information received, Moldosali Ibraimov was arrested in the hall of the court and would now be detained in temporary detention unit of Jalal-Abad Police.
The Observatory is concerned by this arrest, which seems to be part of the ongoing repression lead by the Kyrgyz authorities against any person criticising the implementation of the Rule of Law in Kyrgyzstan. The Observatory recalls that two other members of the KCHR are currently subject to legal actions, Ramazan Dyryldaev, its President, and M. Mambetaipov, responsible for administrative affairs of the association (see. Appeal KGZ 002 / 0006 / OBS 036.01)
Actions requested :
Please write to the Kyrgyz authorities demanding that they :
i. free immediately Mr. Moldosali Ibraimov, his detention being arbitrary ;
ii. put an end to all forms of harassment of human rights defenders and their organisations, in particular the current legal proceedings against the KCHR and its members;
iii. ensure the implementation of the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9 1998 (Declaration concerning the rights and responsibilities of individuals, groups and institutions to promote and protect universally recognised human rights and fundamental liberties ) 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 level " and article 6.c which provides that « everyone has the right, individually and in association with others to study, discuss, form and hold opinions on the observance, both in law and in practice, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and, through these and other appropriate means, to draw public attention to those matters ».
iv. guarantee the effective respect of fundamental rights and liberties in accordance with the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international and regional Pacts and Covenants ratified by Kyrgyzstan.
Addresses:
The President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Askar Akayev, Kyrgyzskaya Respublika, 720003 g. Bishkek, Prospekt Chuy, 205 Fax: + 996 (312) 218 627
Geneva-Paris, 21st June 2000
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken, quoting the reference number given above. The Observatory, an 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: Fax: +033 (0) 1 55 80 83 92
Tel: FIDH 33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 OMCT +41 22 809 49 39
E-mail: observatoire@iprolink.ch
KGZ 003 / 0006 / OBS 057
Condemnation / imprisonment
KYRGYZSTAN
21st June 2000
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, an FIDH and OMCT venture, requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Kyrgyzstan.
Brief description of the situation :
The Observatory has been informed by the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights (KCHR), a member of the OMCT network, that on June 19, 2000, Moldosali Ibraimov, a journalist and activist of the KCHR was sentenced to two years of imprisonment and fined 100 000 soms (2000 US$) , by Jalal-Abad city court.
Mr. Ibraimov was condemned for moral damage under article 127, paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code for writing an article entitled "Did the judge commit a crime?" in the local newspaper « Akyikat » (Justice) ; in this article, he criticised the attitude of the judge of Suzak, Jalal-Abad region, Toktosun Kasymbekov, who failed to conform with the law and the right to a fair trial, in giving a ruling in favour of a candidate who would have resorted to electoral forgery during the last parliamentary elections.
It must be noted that article 127, paragraph 2, only foresees a fine for public defamation in the media to the amount of 100 to 1000 times the minimum wage. The newspaper « Akyikat » was also fined 100 000 soms (2000 US$), for publishing this article.
According to the information received, Moldosali Ibraimov was arrested in the hall of the court and would now be detained in temporary detention unit of Jalal-Abad Police.
The Observatory is concerned by this arrest, which seems to be part of the ongoing repression lead by the Kyrgyz authorities against any person criticising the implementation of the Rule of Law in Kyrgyzstan. The Observatory recalls that two other members of the KCHR are currently subject to legal actions, Ramazan Dyryldaev, its President, and M. Mambetaipov, responsible for administrative affairs of the association (see. Appeal KGZ 002 / 0006 / OBS 036.01)
Actions requested :
Please write to the Kyrgyz authorities demanding that they :
i. free immediately Mr. Moldosali Ibraimov, his detention being arbitrary ;
ii. put an end to all forms of harassment of human rights defenders and their organisations, in particular the current legal proceedings against the KCHR and its members;
iii. ensure the implementation of the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9 1998 (Declaration concerning the rights and responsibilities of individuals, groups and institutions to promote and protect universally recognised human rights and fundamental liberties ) 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 level " and article 6.c which provides that « everyone has the right, individually and in association with others to study, discuss, form and hold opinions on the observance, both in law and in practice, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and, through these and other appropriate means, to draw public attention to those matters ».
iv. guarantee the effective respect of fundamental rights and liberties in accordance with the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international and regional Pacts and Covenants ratified by Kyrgyzstan.
Addresses:
The President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Askar Akayev, Kyrgyzskaya Respublika, 720003 g. Bishkek, Prospekt Chuy, 205 Fax: + 996 (312) 218 627
Geneva-Paris, 21st June 2000
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken, quoting the reference number given above. The Observatory, an 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: Fax: +033 (0) 1 55 80 83 92
Tel: FIDH 33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 OMCT +41 22 809 49 39
E-mail: observatoire@iprolink.ch