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Man with Kyrgyzstan Links Among Suspects in Moscow Attack

A man originally from Kyrgyzstan is among the suspects detained in the attack on a Moscow concert hall that killed about 140 people, according to media reports. The man, identified as Alisher Kasimov, allegedly rented an apartment to men who carried out the attack on the Crocus City complex on Friday night. He appeared in court on Tuesday and did not show signs of having been beaten or tortured, as was the case with some other suspects. Videos circulating on social media showed a distraught woman purported to be Kasimov’s mother. In the videos, the woman says Kasimov is innocent and that he did not know that he was renting an apartment to people who were plotting an attack. Kasimov denounced his Kyrgyz citizenship in favor of Russian nationality in 2014. Several migrant laborers from Tajikistan were charged with terrorism Sunday night for their alleged role in the devastating assault with rifles and explosives. The attack has focused attention on the large number of Central Asian migrants living – often in grim conditions – in Russia, as well as the possible vulnerability of some of them to recruitment by extremist groups. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the Crocus City killings. Russia has tried to assign blame to Ukraine and the West, without offering evidence.

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Nazarbayev’s Nephew Samat Abish Handed Eight-Year Suspended Sentence

An Astana court has found Samat Abish, a nephew of Kazakhstan's former president Nursultan Nazarbayev, guilty of "exceeding power or official authority" and given him an eight-year suspended sentence. Abish, the former deputy chairman of the National Security Committee (KNB), had his criminal case classified as "secret," and all court sessions were held behind closed doors. "By the court's verdict, [Abish] was found guilty of committing a crime under Part 4 of Article 362 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and sentenced to eight years of imprisonment with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions for 10 years. On the basis of article 63 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, it [was] decided to consider the appointed punishment as conditional", reads a message from the inter-district criminal court of Astana. Mitigating circumstances for Abish included his young children, and the fact that he admitted his guilt and showed remorse. The court made an additional ruling to strip Abish of all of his state awards. Abish is the son of Satybaldy Nazarbayev, the younger brother of Kazakhstan's first president. Abish's father died in 1981 in a car accident. Nursultan Nazarbayev's nephew was appointed deputy chairman of the National Security Committee in 2013, and in 2015 became first deputy. Abish lost this position on January 17, 2022 after the unrest in the country and the subsequent detention of KNB head Karim Masimov. At the time, the country's prosecutor general said that Abish was being held as a witness in the investigation into the unrest. In September last year it emerged that a criminal case had been opened against Abish. He came under investigation after the former head of a KNB department said that he had been following orders from his first deputy during the unrest that January. Abish was charged with abuse of power and abuse of authority. Another nephew of Nursultan Nazarbayev, Samat Abish's older brother Kairat Satybaldy, is accused of money laundering. He has been in prison since 2022 on charges of grand embezzlement. The trial is scheduled for April 1.

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“You’re Afraid I’m Not Beautiful; I’m Afraid You’ll Kill Me” – Women Rally in Bishkek

On International Women's Day on March 8th, hundreds of people took to the streets of Bishkek to participate in the annual march for women's rights. Under the slogan "A woman's life is a mirror of the time," the march started from the monument to revolutionary fighters on Chui Avenue and ended in Gorky Square on Isanov Street. The marchers carried placards and made calls for an end to violence against women, to ensure their freedom and protect freedom of speech. One of the speakers was Asel Nogoibayeva, who said she had first-hand experience of domestic violence. Her words left a lasting impression, as did her call for the police to address the problems of domestic violence. Marches on March 8th in support of women's rights have become an annual tradition in Bishkek, with the main theme always for the authorities to pay attention to women's issues. "I went with a double-sided poster that said: ‘You’re afraid I’m not beautiful; I’m afraid you’ll kill me’ and on the other side, ‘Only a human being can give birth to a human being,’” Saraya, a participant at the rally told TCA. “I also printed out some posters that I handed out." Saraya said that the march went exactly as planned with no deviations and expressed her joy at the increase in the number of participants, including girls with their boyfriends, which is a testament to the expanded audience and impact of the event. "Of course, marching is not the only way to influence people,” she said. “It doesn't work if once a year you walk around with placards and then forget about it. Businesses, for example, have different ways of attracting customers - social media, word of mouth, banners, etc. A march is like an advertising campaign, periodically loudly and announcing itself so that people don't forget it. Only women’s rights are not a business – they’re a struggle for justice."

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Kazakhstan soars on gender data transparency amid mixed results from rest of Central Asia

Open Data Watch, an international non-profit organization supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, published in late 2023 a Gender Data Compass (GDC) report on the availability and openness of 53 key gender indicators in 185 countries. With numerous outlets and articles celebrating international women’s day last week, now is a good opportunity to revisit this important document to see where Central Asian countries rank in the world in terms of gender data transparency. The most interesting finding from the report is Kazakhstan’s remarkable success: The country has secured a coveted fourth position globally, coming just behind Great Britain, South Korea and Denmark, and is the only country from Central Asia that entered the top five. By comparison, Kyrgyzstan holds the 45th place out of 185 countries, Uzbekistan the 56th, Tajikistan the 159th, and Turkmenistan holds the 171st spot. The United States, on the hand, came in 48th globally. The GDC provides information on national gender data systems and the environment in which they operate. It investigates whether a country has policies and laws that encourage the production and dissemination of official gender data, as well as the strengths of their regulatory frameworks, funding structures and national capacities in terms of ability to support transformative changes. Kazakhstan has scored 60 out of 100 on both “openness” and “availability” of its gender data, according to Open Data Watch. It is important to note that the front runner of the rankings, the United Kingdom, has scored just 55 on “availability” and 74 on “openness”, underlining a need even in developed countries for improving gender data coverage gaps and publishing data in more open and available formats, among other things. The goal of this report is to provide necessary insights and serve as a practical guide to relevant national authorities as well as to their partners to take effective action towards gender equality.

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Former President’s Daughter, Aliya Nazarbayeva, Accused of Raiding Business Worth $170 million

The daughter of Kazakhstan's first president, Aliya Nazarbayeva, stands accused of seizing control of a business operation worth approximately $170 million. This comes alongside similar charges brought against Valentina Rogova, the wife of the former chairman of the Constitutional Council. Businessman Nurlan Bimurzin broke the news during a press conference, claiming that these alleged transgressions began in 2003, when he and his operation were targeted by the financial police. He alleges that a representative of Nazarbayeva offered to alleviate the pressure in exchange for half the shares in his business. However, within a year, Nazarbayeva purportedly demanded the remaining shares. Bimurzin asserts that Nazarbayeva resorted to kidnapping his father and issuing death threats against his family to secure the remaining shares. Consequently, in 2003, Bimurzin and his family lost their business, comprising seven oil depots and 96 gas stations. Bimurzin also implicated Valentina Rogova in the crime, suggesting she provided protection for Nazarbayeva. For two decades, Bimurzin and his business partner, Medgat Kaliyev, kept silent out of fear for their loved ones' safety. Now, hoping that justice will prevail, they have submitted a statement to the General Prosecutor's Office, which has since been forwarded to the Asset Recovery Committee, Bimurzin told the press conference. Public figure, Zharkyn Kurentayev stated that the assets, estimated at $170 million, were listed as being worth 19,000 tenge (approximately $42) in fraudulent documents. The victims claim they did not even receive this meagre sum. In their formal petition, Bimurzin and Kaliyev requested the initiation of a criminal case against Aliya Nazarbayeva and Valentina Rogova, seeking justice for their alleged crimes. Deputy of the Mazhilis, Ermurat Bapi has also demanded that the Prosecutor General's Office conduct a full investigation.

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Children in the Fields, Not at Their Desks: Turkmenistan Continues to Use Child Labor in Cotton Harvest

Turkmenistan continues to use forced labor of adults and children during the cotton harvest, according to experts from the Committee on the Application of Standards of the International Labor Organization (ILO). "The preliminary findings of this observation mission indicate direct or indirect evidence of mobilization of public servants in all regions visited, with the exception of the city of Ashgabat," the report by the committee states. Another report by independent Turkmen human rights groups published last year documented widespread systematic forced labor in Turkmenistan - alongside widespread corruption. Under its ILO commitments, Turkmenistan has pledged for years to eradicate this practice, but the reality is different. The Business and Human Rights Resource Center notes that the Turkmen Government obliges farmers to submit a certain quota of cotton each year. Failure to meet these quotas can result in the land being taken away from the dekhkans (smallholder farmers) and given to others, or the issuance of a fine. At the same time, the government maintains a monopoly on the purchase and sale of cotton, sets an artificially low purchase price, and does not disclose information about either the income from cotton or the use of that income. Employees of government organizations are systematically forced to harvest cotton. They are not provided with proper working or living conditions, and are often forced to find housing and food at their own expense. In addition, they face such problems as unfavorable weather conditions - cotton harvesting starts in the summer heat and continues well into winter's sub-zero temperatures - contact with chemicals used to treat the fields, and travel costs. Despite this, human rights advocates haven't received any complaints about the authorities' misconduct. This is likely due to the fact that workers are afraid of losing their jobs in the public sector, where the majority of Turkmenistan's population is employed. Despite local laws prohibiting the use of child labor - and a ban on the use of child labor in the cotton sector has been in place since 2008 - the practice is widespread during the cotton harvest. The Cotton Campaign, an international coalition of labor groups, human rights organizations, investors and business organizations, has repeatedly spoken out against this practice. Schoolchildren in Turkmenistan often go to the cotton fields themselves to earn money for clothing and food, as well as to help their parents, who are obliged to pick cotton. Turkmenistan is the tenth largest cotton producer in the world and has a vertically integrated cotton industry. Despite the boycott of cotton picked using forced labor, the U.S., Canada and EU countries cannot always control the supply chain of cotton from third countries. Thus, Turkmen cotton harvested by forced and child labor filters into global cotton supply chains at all stages of production. The Cotton Campaign has called on governments, companies and workers' organizations to take action and pressure Turkmenistan to end forced labor and protect the basic rights of its citizens. Uzbekistan is a successful case study in the effort to eliminate...