Reports of torture and other ill-treatment in police custody continued. The government failed to take adequate measures to protect health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Survivors of gender-based violence faced serious obstacles in accessing justice. Prisoner of conscience Azimjan Askarov...

As the two-week deadline for the enactment of the law on “foreign representatives,” adopted by the Kyrgyzstani Parliament, approaches, Agnès Callamard, Secretary General at Amnesty International, said: “It is imperative that President Sadyr Japarov vetoes a law which will have far-reaching...

Reacting to the news of Kyrgyzstan’s parliament passing a highly restrictive “Foreign Representatives” legislation to regulate civil society, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director, said: “The passing of this legislation by parliament is deeply troubling....

The Kyrgyzstani authorities are unleashing an unprecedented crackdown on the country’s civil society, Amnesty International said today, as it released a statement highlighting how the government has increasingly sought to stifle dissent and erode human rights guarantees since 2021. “The Kyrgyzstani...

Responding to a series of detentions of journalists affiliated with independent Kyrgyzstani media outlets and raids on their homes and offices, Maisy Weicherding, Amnesty International’s Central Asia Researcher, said: “The actions of the Kyrgyzstani authorities represent a new overt attack on the...

Amnesty International is launching its annual global letter-writing campaign ahead of Human Rights Day on 10 December, in a bid to transform the lives of people whose rights have been violated. This year, Amnesty International is campaigning for justice with and for 11 people from around the world,...

Reacting to the Kyrgyzstani parliament’s adoption in its first reading of amendments to a law that would dangerously restrict freedom of association and the work of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the country, Maisy Weicherding, Amnesty International’s Central Asia Researcher, said:  “We...

Responding to the news that the Kyrgyzstani authorities have filed a lawsuit to shut down Kloop Media Public Foundation, a not-for-profit independent media organization, Maisy Weicherding, Researcher for Eastern Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty International, said: “Kloop Media is a respected...

Ahead of a parliamentary vote on amendments to law to further restrict freedom of association including the work of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Kyrgyzstan, Heather McGill, Amnesty International’s Central Asia Researcher, said: “These amendments pose a very significant threat to civil...

Responding to the news that the Kyrgyzstani authorities are charging 27 activists who protested against a border agreement with Uzbekistan with “attempting to overthrow the government”, Heather McGill, Amnesty International’s Researcher on Central Asia, said: “It is absurd that these individuals...

Reacting to the news that a court in Kyrgyzstan approved a Ministry of Culture request to close down Radio Azattyk, the national bureau of the international broadcasting corporation Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), for purported violation of media regulations, Marie Struthers, Amnesty...

Reacting to news that the authorities in Kyrgyzstan have applied to a court to close Radio Azattyk, the national service of the US broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said: “The closure of Radio Azattyk...

The Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and a pervasive focus on ‘traditional values’ have contributed to a deterioration in human rights and rising levels of domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Amnesty International said...