Kyrgyzstan
03.12.04
Urgent Interventions
Kyrgyzstan: Mr. Akunov reappears after being tortured in captivity
URGENT APPEAL – THE OBSERVATORY
KGZ 001 / 1104 / OBS 088.1
Enforced disappearance and Torture / Reappearance /
Attempted abduction
Kyrgyzstan
December 3, 2004
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of FIDH and OMCT, has received new information concerning the situation in Kyrgyzstan and requests your urgent intervention.
New information:
The Observatory has been informed by the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights (KCHR) and the Bureau on Human Rights and Rule of Law that Mr. Tursunbek Akunov, a prominent human rights defender and long-time leader of the NGO Human Rights Movement of Kyrgyzstan, finally returned home after having been the victim of enforced disappearance during 15 days. Moreover, one of his colleagues who had been inquiring into his disappearance as part of a search team, Ms. Aziza Abdurasulova, was subjected to an attempted abduction on November 26, 2004 at Bishkek.
According to the information received, Mr. Tursunbek Akunov was left near the 4th Bishkek City Hospital on December 1, 2004, suffering from a strong headache. According to a witness, Mr. Akunov was brought into the reception on a stretcher and looked unconscious. Security forces reportedly controlled the hospital entrance soon after his arrival, while the police interrogated him on the circumstances of his disappearance. Only his wife and some of his colleagues, who were informed of his reappearance by the media, were allowed to meet him after strong insistence.
According to the information received, Mr. Akunov was kept captive in a sealed place during two weeks, his eyes being most of the time covered by a bandage. He was allegedly forced to breathe an unknown gas and was terrorised by National Security agents. A preliminary diagnosis was given by Dr. Sulaimanov on December 2, which detected deep psychological trauma but yet allowed for his return home on the same day. It has also been stated that Mr. Akunov may receive medical assistance at his residence if need be.
The Observatory is very concerned by the fact that Kyrgyz officials tried to deny the fact that Mr. Akunov was the victim of enforced disappearance. Indeed, on December 2, 2004, Mr. Busurmankulov, spokesman of the Ministry of the Interior and Mr. Mamyrov, deputy chairman of the National Security Service, argued at a press conference that Mr. Akunov’s disappearance may have been a farce staged for self-promotion and aimed at discrediting law-enforcement bodies. In particular they tried to demonstrate that Mr. Akunov’s testimony was incoherent and alleged that he had come to the hospital on his own contradicting the witness’s version. Such statements seem to aim at ensuring impunity for the authors of this abduction.
The Observatory has also been informed that on November 26, 2004, Ms. Aziza Abdurasulova, head of the a human rights NGO called Kylym Shamy (Candle of Century), who had been very active in calling the authorities to find Mr. Akunov, received a call on her mobile phone and was informed that she was invited to meet someone in order to receive a prize she had won from a phone provider . As she arrived at the meeting place, a person who identified himself as a criminal police officer, Mr. Daniyar Saparbekov, tried to force her into his car, claiming her cell phone was a stolen one and that she had to be taken to a police office. However, her phone had been given to her by the Bishkek office of Freedom House, an international non-profit organisation, under whose name it was registered.
According to the information received, Ms. Aziza Abdurasulova ran from the alleged officer and subsequently received two phone calls from so-called Mr. Kadyraliev, deputy chief of the criminal department of Bishkek City, and Mr. Taalai Duishenbiev, deputy head of the Bishkek police department. They asked her to arrange a venue where they could meet in the city. She replied that she would not do so unless she received an official summoning.
On November 29, 2004, at a press conference organised by Ms. Abdurasulova, the chairman of the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Colonel Busurmankulov Joldoshbek, accused her of trying to draw public and political attention by stating that police officers had attempted to abduct her. However, he confirmed that the officer she had met and the ones who called her were policemen from the Criminal Investigation Department of Bishkek City Administration of Internal Affairs who took part in the investigations into Mr. Akunov’s disappearance.
The Observatory is gravely concerned by Mr. Akunov’s physical and psychological integrity, as well as by the fact that his disappearance may have been linked with his activities in favour of human rights and democracy and recalls that both Mr. Akunov and Ms. Aziza Abdurasulova had already been subjected to acts of harassment and repression prior to these events (See background information below).
The Observatory would like to thank all those who intervened in order to urge the authorities to find the whereabouts of Mr. Akunov. There are indeed strong reasons to believe that Mr. Akunov was found alive thanks to both national and international pressure.
Background information:
Mr. Tursunbek Akunov had disappeared on November 16, 2004, when he left his residence at approximately 5:30 p.m., telling his wife, Mrs. Gulia Japarova, that his presence had been requested by the National Security Service and that he was going to meet NSS members near the Ministry of Agriculture, in the centre of Bishkek, at 6 p.m. Upon leaving his home, Mr. Akunov left his passport and a flight ticket to Kiev, as he reportedly intended to travel on November 17, 2004 in order to monitor elections in Ukraine along with a group of NGO leaders and journalists (see Observatory appeal KGZ 001 / 1104 / OBS 088).
On November 18, 2004, Mrs. Japarova informed the Sverdlov District Department of Internal Affairs about the alleged disappearance of her husband and on the following day the Department set up an investigation group for searching him. On that same day, a committee of human rights defenders, including Mr. Akunov’s colleagues, Messrs. Motuev and Nyshanov, started inquiring the competent authorities in order to find his whereabouts. In particular, Ms. Tolekan Ismailova, director of the NGO “Civil Society Against Corruption”, spoke with Colonel Aitikeev, a NSS senior officer, who claimed they did not detain Mr. Akunov.
On November 22, 2004, the Ministry of Internal Affairs declared that an investigation was being conducted in order to determine where Mr. Akunov was to be found.
Since November 1, 2004, Mr. Akunov and his collaborators had been collecting signatures in the centre of Bishkek as part of a campaign to compel the Kyrgyz President, Mr. Askar Akayev, to resign within the framework of the People’s Patriotic Movement of Kyrgyzstan, founded in 2004 and headed by Mr. Akunov.
Moreover, Mr. Akunov had been previously subjected to arbitrary acts related to his defence of human rights and participation in peaceful protests for criticizing government’s policies. He has indeed been repeatedly detained along with other defenders, including Ms. Aziza Abdurasulova (See Open Letter of the Observatory of May 7, 2004; Observatory Appeals KGZ 003 / 1102 / OBS 066 and KGZ 002 / 0502 / OBS 032). Mr. Tursunbek Akunov had also previously been detained for 5 years following a similar attempt to obtain the incumbent President’s impeachment through the gathering of signatures in 1998. He was then convicted for embezzlement.
Action requested:
Please write to the Kyrgyz authorities urging them to :
i. order an independent and impartial investigation into the circumstances of Mr. Akunov’s enforced disappearance and into the acts of torture perpetrated against him, as well as into Ms. Aziza Abdurasulova’s attempted abduction, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to justice and apply the sanctions provided by law;
ii. ensure that an end be put to all acts of harassment against Mr. Tursunbek Akunov, Ms. Aziza Abdurasulova, and human rights defenders in Kyrgyzstan as a whole, and that their physical and psychological integrity be guaranteed in any circumstances;
iv. ensure the implementation of the provisions on the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9th 1998, in particular article 1 which states 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” but also to “study, discuss, form and hold opinions on the observance, both in law and practice, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and, through these and other appropriate means, to draw public attention to these matters” (article 6.c), as well as its article 12.2, which states, “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 present Declaration”;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and other international instruments ratified by the Kyrgyz Republic.
Addresses:
Paris - Geneva, December 3, 2004
Kindly inform the Observatory of any action undertaken quoting the code number of this appeal in your reply.
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:
Tel and fax: FIDH : +33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT : (+ 41 22) 809 49 39 / 809 49 29
E-mail : observatoire@iprolink.ch
KGZ 001 / 1104 / OBS 088.1
Enforced disappearance and Torture / Reappearance /
Attempted abduction
Kyrgyzstan
December 3, 2004
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of FIDH and OMCT, has received new information concerning the situation in Kyrgyzstan and requests your urgent intervention.
New information:
The Observatory has been informed by the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights (KCHR) and the Bureau on Human Rights and Rule of Law that Mr. Tursunbek Akunov, a prominent human rights defender and long-time leader of the NGO Human Rights Movement of Kyrgyzstan, finally returned home after having been the victim of enforced disappearance during 15 days. Moreover, one of his colleagues who had been inquiring into his disappearance as part of a search team, Ms. Aziza Abdurasulova, was subjected to an attempted abduction on November 26, 2004 at Bishkek.
According to the information received, Mr. Tursunbek Akunov was left near the 4th Bishkek City Hospital on December 1, 2004, suffering from a strong headache. According to a witness, Mr. Akunov was brought into the reception on a stretcher and looked unconscious. Security forces reportedly controlled the hospital entrance soon after his arrival, while the police interrogated him on the circumstances of his disappearance. Only his wife and some of his colleagues, who were informed of his reappearance by the media, were allowed to meet him after strong insistence.
According to the information received, Mr. Akunov was kept captive in a sealed place during two weeks, his eyes being most of the time covered by a bandage. He was allegedly forced to breathe an unknown gas and was terrorised by National Security agents. A preliminary diagnosis was given by Dr. Sulaimanov on December 2, which detected deep psychological trauma but yet allowed for his return home on the same day. It has also been stated that Mr. Akunov may receive medical assistance at his residence if need be.
The Observatory is very concerned by the fact that Kyrgyz officials tried to deny the fact that Mr. Akunov was the victim of enforced disappearance. Indeed, on December 2, 2004, Mr. Busurmankulov, spokesman of the Ministry of the Interior and Mr. Mamyrov, deputy chairman of the National Security Service, argued at a press conference that Mr. Akunov’s disappearance may have been a farce staged for self-promotion and aimed at discrediting law-enforcement bodies. In particular they tried to demonstrate that Mr. Akunov’s testimony was incoherent and alleged that he had come to the hospital on his own contradicting the witness’s version. Such statements seem to aim at ensuring impunity for the authors of this abduction.
The Observatory has also been informed that on November 26, 2004, Ms. Aziza Abdurasulova, head of the a human rights NGO called Kylym Shamy (Candle of Century), who had been very active in calling the authorities to find Mr. Akunov, received a call on her mobile phone and was informed that she was invited to meet someone in order to receive a prize she had won from a phone provider . As she arrived at the meeting place, a person who identified himself as a criminal police officer, Mr. Daniyar Saparbekov, tried to force her into his car, claiming her cell phone was a stolen one and that she had to be taken to a police office. However, her phone had been given to her by the Bishkek office of Freedom House, an international non-profit organisation, under whose name it was registered.
According to the information received, Ms. Aziza Abdurasulova ran from the alleged officer and subsequently received two phone calls from so-called Mr. Kadyraliev, deputy chief of the criminal department of Bishkek City, and Mr. Taalai Duishenbiev, deputy head of the Bishkek police department. They asked her to arrange a venue where they could meet in the city. She replied that she would not do so unless she received an official summoning.
On November 29, 2004, at a press conference organised by Ms. Abdurasulova, the chairman of the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Colonel Busurmankulov Joldoshbek, accused her of trying to draw public and political attention by stating that police officers had attempted to abduct her. However, he confirmed that the officer she had met and the ones who called her were policemen from the Criminal Investigation Department of Bishkek City Administration of Internal Affairs who took part in the investigations into Mr. Akunov’s disappearance.
The Observatory is gravely concerned by Mr. Akunov’s physical and psychological integrity, as well as by the fact that his disappearance may have been linked with his activities in favour of human rights and democracy and recalls that both Mr. Akunov and Ms. Aziza Abdurasulova had already been subjected to acts of harassment and repression prior to these events (See background information below).
The Observatory would like to thank all those who intervened in order to urge the authorities to find the whereabouts of Mr. Akunov. There are indeed strong reasons to believe that Mr. Akunov was found alive thanks to both national and international pressure.
Background information:
Mr. Tursunbek Akunov had disappeared on November 16, 2004, when he left his residence at approximately 5:30 p.m., telling his wife, Mrs. Gulia Japarova, that his presence had been requested by the National Security Service and that he was going to meet NSS members near the Ministry of Agriculture, in the centre of Bishkek, at 6 p.m. Upon leaving his home, Mr. Akunov left his passport and a flight ticket to Kiev, as he reportedly intended to travel on November 17, 2004 in order to monitor elections in Ukraine along with a group of NGO leaders and journalists (see Observatory appeal KGZ 001 / 1104 / OBS 088).
On November 18, 2004, Mrs. Japarova informed the Sverdlov District Department of Internal Affairs about the alleged disappearance of her husband and on the following day the Department set up an investigation group for searching him. On that same day, a committee of human rights defenders, including Mr. Akunov’s colleagues, Messrs. Motuev and Nyshanov, started inquiring the competent authorities in order to find his whereabouts. In particular, Ms. Tolekan Ismailova, director of the NGO “Civil Society Against Corruption”, spoke with Colonel Aitikeev, a NSS senior officer, who claimed they did not detain Mr. Akunov.
On November 22, 2004, the Ministry of Internal Affairs declared that an investigation was being conducted in order to determine where Mr. Akunov was to be found.
Since November 1, 2004, Mr. Akunov and his collaborators had been collecting signatures in the centre of Bishkek as part of a campaign to compel the Kyrgyz President, Mr. Askar Akayev, to resign within the framework of the People’s Patriotic Movement of Kyrgyzstan, founded in 2004 and headed by Mr. Akunov.
Moreover, Mr. Akunov had been previously subjected to arbitrary acts related to his defence of human rights and participation in peaceful protests for criticizing government’s policies. He has indeed been repeatedly detained along with other defenders, including Ms. Aziza Abdurasulova (See Open Letter of the Observatory of May 7, 2004; Observatory Appeals KGZ 003 / 1102 / OBS 066 and KGZ 002 / 0502 / OBS 032). Mr. Tursunbek Akunov had also previously been detained for 5 years following a similar attempt to obtain the incumbent President’s impeachment through the gathering of signatures in 1998. He was then convicted for embezzlement.
Action requested:
Please write to the Kyrgyz authorities urging them to :
i. order an independent and impartial investigation into the circumstances of Mr. Akunov’s enforced disappearance and into the acts of torture perpetrated against him, as well as into Ms. Aziza Abdurasulova’s attempted abduction, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to justice and apply the sanctions provided by law;
ii. ensure that an end be put to all acts of harassment against Mr. Tursunbek Akunov, Ms. Aziza Abdurasulova, and human rights defenders in Kyrgyzstan as a whole, and that their physical and psychological integrity be guaranteed in any circumstances;
iv. ensure the implementation of the provisions on the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9th 1998, in particular article 1 which states 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” but also to “study, discuss, form and hold opinions on the observance, both in law and practice, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and, through these and other appropriate means, to draw public attention to these matters” (article 6.c), as well as its article 12.2, which states, “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 present Declaration”;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and other international instruments ratified by the Kyrgyz Republic.
Addresses:
- Mr Askar Akayev, President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Kyrgyzskaya Respublika, 720003 g. Bishkek, Prospekt Chuy, 205, Fax: 996 312 218 627, Email: ghpress2@rhl.bishkek.su
- Mr. Nikolai Tanaev, Prime Minister, Fax: 996 312 218 627
- Mr. Kurmanbek Osmonov, Minister of Justice, Fax: 996 312 663 044
- Mr. Bakirdin Subanbekov, Minister of the Interior, Fax: 996 312 663 031, 996 312 288 788
- Permanent mission of the Kyrgyz Republic to the UN in Geneva, Rue Maunoir 26, 1207 Genève, Suisse, e-mail: kyrgyzmission@bluewin.ch, Fax : +4122 707.92.21
Paris - Geneva, December 3, 2004
Kindly inform the Observatory of any action undertaken quoting the code number of this appeal in your reply.
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:
Tel and fax: FIDH : +33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT : (+ 41 22) 809 49 39 / 809 49 29
E-mail : observatoire@iprolink.ch