On June 28, 2024, Freedom Now and the law firm Proskauer Rose LLP filed a petition with the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on behalf of civil society activists Klara Sooronkulova, Rita Karasartova, Gulnara Dzhurabayeva, Asya Sasykbayeva, and Perizat Suranova. The petition alleges that Kyrgyzstan’s continued detention of the five women infringes on their fundamental rights to freedom of assembly and association and freedom of expression, in violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
“We are confident that the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention will conclude that the fundamental human rights of these women have been violated,” said Freedom Now Legal Officer Adam Lhedmat. “All restrictions on their liberty should be ended immediately.”
In October 2022, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan agreed to a negotiated deal that would settle a longstanding territorial dispute between the countries. Not long after the final deal was announced it was revealed that a portion of land that Uzbekistan would receive from Kyrgyzstan included the Kempir-Abad reservoir, which has been a critical source of water for both countries. There was particular concern that the negotiations were conducted in secret and that the full legislation approving the deal was not made public.
On October 22, 2022, Klara Sooronkulova, Rita Karasartova, Gulnara Dzhurabayeva, Asya Sasykbayeva, and Perizat Suranova, along with other politicians, activists and citizens, formed the Committee for Protection of the Kempir-Abad Reservoir to discuss the border deal and the concerns of local citizens. At the time they joined the Committee, all five of the women were active members of civil society.
- Sooronkulova is chairwoman of the NGO “School of Law” and a chairwoman of the Committee to Protect Political Prisoners. She is also a former Constitutional Court judge and a Reforma Party Leader.
- Karasartova works at the Institute of Civic Analysis, a human rights organization and think-tank that monitors the rotation process within the Kyrgyz judiciary system.
- Dzhurabayeva is a human rights defender for women who has been collaborating with Interbilim, an organization promoting democracy, since 2020. She is also a former Central Elections Commission (CEC) member.
- Sasykbayeva is the founder and former head of Interbilim. She is also an ex-deputy of Parliament.
- Suranova is a member of the Women’s Democratic Network of Kyrgyzstan.
In the following days the Committee members, including the five women, were arrested. The Ministry of Interior claimed they had evidence about the involvement of individuals in organizing and preparing for mass riots, followed by an illegal seizure of power. Following the arrests, recordings of wiretapped conversations between the Committee members were published on the internet. These recordings were edited, and the conversations had been constructed to seem like some of the detainees, including Sooronkulova, were calling for an overthrow of the government.
The women were officially charged with “organizing mass riots…associated with violence.” Sooronkulova was charged with an additional count of organizing riots, which relates to an internet post from almost a year prior about an organized flash mob.
The women spent approximately five months imprisoned as part of their pretrial detention. In November 2022, Sooronkulova and Karasartova began a hunger strike in protest of their detention. As a result of the hunger strike and the detention conditions, Sooronkulova’s health sharply declined. On February 21, 2023, she was transferred from detention to a hospital where she received surgery. Suranova was also hospitalized and had to undergo an operation. Following the operation and discharge from the hospital, she was placed under house arrest on March 6, 2023.
On April 12, 2023, Dzhurabayeva, Sooronkulova, and Sasykbayeva were released from pre-trial detention and placed under house arrest. Karasartova was transferred to house arrest on June 23, 2023. On April 25, 2023, the authorities moved to press additional charges against these four women, including forcible seizure of power.
On June 22, 2023, the trial against the women began at the Pervomaisky District Court. They were tried alongside 22 other members of the Committee, making a total of 27 defendants at trial. On June 26, 2023, the judge ordered that the trial be held in closed court sessions. In justifying the decision to close the trial, the judge referred to the decision of the investigating team to classify all case materials for the entire period of the investigation.
On June 14, 2024, the District Court acquitted the defendants of all charges due to a lack of evidence. Despite the acquittal, all defendants remain on house arrest pending the outcome of any appeals. The prosecution is expected to appeal the acquittal in the coming weeks.
The five women remain on house arrest as the criminal trial continues. Under the terms of their house arrest, the women are required to adhere to a curfew between the hours of 10:00 PM and 7:00 AM, and are not permitted to leave their city of residence without prior approval from authorities. Moreover, Sasykbayeva is prohibited from accessing the internet under the terms of her house arrest. The terms of the house arrest are monitored for compliance through consistent surveillance by the state security services, who are frequently present outside of the womens’ homes.