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International Human Rights Defenders Demand Release of Turkmen Activist

Turkmen civil activist Murat Dushemov, who has completed a four-year prison sentence, was not released on June 14 as expected. Instead, he was transferred to a pre-trial detention facility in Turkmenabat just days before his anticipated release. Sentence Served, Yet No Freedom According to Turkmen.News, new criminal charges were filed against Dushemov following an alleged altercation with another inmate, an incident human rights defenders claim was fabricated. Dushemov asserts he was framed in a deliberate provocation: "The person who filed the complaint started hitting the wall, injuring himself, and smearing the wall with blood. They want to slander me again to prolong my stay here," he said. Human rights advocates argue the authorities are using these new accusations as a tactic to extend Dushemov's imprisonment. Retaliation for Criticism Dushemov was arrested in 2021 and sentenced to four years on charges of extortion and bodily harm. International watchdogs have consistently stated that the charges were politically motivated. Prior to his arrest, Dushemov had openly criticized the Turkmen government's COVID-19 policies, questioning the legal basis for mask mandates and mandatory vaccination, which he refused to comply with. One allegation involved the chief doctor of a medical facility, whom Dushemov allegedly blackmailed by threatening to release a compromising video. Another accusation stemmed from a supposed provocation in prison, where two inmates, allegedly encouraged by authorities, fought each other and later claimed Dushemov had assaulted them. Global Advocacy Five human rights groups, including the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Turkmen.News, the Turkmen Human Rights Initiative, the International Partnership for Human Rights, and the Association for Human Rights in Central Asia, have issued a joint statement calling for Dushemov’s immediate release. They condemned the new charges as retaliation for his civic activism: “The authorities must drop the new criminal charges brought against civil society activist Murat Dushemov as clear retaliation for his activities and release him immediately,” they stated. The groups also urged Turkmenistan’s international partners to exert diplomatic pressure on Ashgabat to halt its persecution of activists and journalists. Human Rights Watch echoed this call, stating on June 25 that the Turkmen authorities must “immediately and unconditionally release activist Murat Dushemov and end all abuses aimed at prolonging his detention.” The case of Murat Dushemov illustrates the ongoing suppression of dissent in Turkmenistan. Despite growing international criticism, the government continues to use the criminal justice system as a tool to silence civil society.

LGBTQ+ Women's rights Activist

Feminists in Kazakhstan Under Pressure Ahead of International Women’s Day

On March 8, the world marks the annual International Women’s Day, and in Kazakhstan’s commercial capital, Almaty, the authorities are again working to prevent public gatherings sponsored by feminist or LGBT groups. Since early February, several members of the feminist group, Feminita, have been detained in Almaty. Preemptive Measures Late March 3, an Almaty court sentenced Aktorgyn Akkenzhebalasy of the feminist group Feminita to ten days in jail after finding her guilty of violating the law on organization of peaceful assemblies. The charge dated back to May 2024, when six members of Feminita held an unsanctioned march in downtown Almaty, demanding a life sentence for former Minister of National Economy Kuandyk Bishimbayev. Bishimbayev beat his wife to death in a private room in an Almaty restaurant in November 2023. His trial from March to May 2024 was broadcast over television and widely watched by the public in Kazakhstan. Akkenzhebalasy was not the only Feminita activist to be jailed for participating in the May 2024 march. On February 28, Feminita co-founder Zhanar Sekerbayeva was jailed for ten days, meaning she would not be freed from jail until March 10, two days after International Women’s Day. Sekerbayeva and another Feminita co-founder, Gulzada Serzhan, were detained on February 13 after Bagila Baltabayeva, the leader of a group called Kazakhstan’s Union of Parents, and several other women burst into a Feminita meeting. Baltabayeva is also the author of a widely circulated petition against LGBT propaganda. Feminita activists said Baltabayeva called the police and complained that participants in the meeting were corrupting minors and had no permission to conduct their meeting. Kazakh independent media outlet Vlast cited witnesses as saying Baltabayeva also struck Akkenzhebalasy. All 25 of the Feminita members at the meeting were detained but quickly released except Sekerbayeva and Serzhan, who were kept at the police station for several hours and eventually charged with conducting public activities of an unregistered social organization. Baltabayeva and those who accompanied her to disrupt the meeting were not detained. On February 14, Feminita tried to have another meeting, but a group of women from the charity fund Rahym interrupted, calling the Feminita activists “foreign agents” and demanding they “get out!“ Again, police questioned the Feminita activists but not the Rahym members who burst into the meeting. On February 19, an Almaty court found Sekerbayeva and Serzhan guilty of holding a meeting of an unregistered organization and were each fined 393,000 tenge (about $1,500). The Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law released a statement noting Feminita had tried repeatedly to register with authorities but was always rejected. The statement also mentioned that Feminita activists had been attacked during meetings in other cities in Kazakhstan and that “All this happened with complete inaction or direct connivance of the police against the aggressors.” Women’s Day vs Women’s Rights There are no reports indicating that the authorities in Almaty, or officials in any other city in Kazakhstan, have approved any requests from feminist groups to conduct public...

Criminal Executive Code Activist Opposition Human rights

Activist in Exile: Tajikistan Pressures Family Over Political Dissent

Mahmadsobir Abdukakhor, an activist associated with the banned Group 24 in Tajikistan, has accused law enforcement agencies in the Rasht District of pressuring his family. According to Abdukahkhor, authorities are demanding that his relatives persuade him to renounce his political activities and return to Tajikistan. “They came to my parents and brother, demanding that they convince me to return and ask for forgiveness from the authorities. But my parents are not responsible for my actions,” Abdukahkhor told Radio Ozodi on December 16. Abdukahkhor stated that such tactics are not new but reaffirmed that he would not stop his political activities or “repent,” as he does not trust the authorities’ assurances. “If I go back, I will either be killed like Umarali Kuwwatov or arrested like Sukhrob Zafar,” he said, referring to other opposition figures. Attempts by Radio Ozodi to obtain comments from Rasht District law enforcement agencies were unsuccessful. Tajik authorities have placed Mahmadsobir Abdukahkhor and other members of Group 24 — a political movement recognized as an extremist organization and banned in the country — on a wanted list. Abdukahkhor initially moved to Russia in 2012, where he ran a business and became involved in the movement before relocating to Europe. In 2014, Tajikistan amended its Criminal Code, allowing individuals accused of extremism to be exonerated if they return and “sincerely repent.” President Emomali Rahmon instructed law enforcement agencies to facilitate the return of such citizens. However, human rights activists claim that despite promises of amnesty, some returnees — including former members of ISIS and the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRP) — were subsequently arrested and imprisoned.

Culture Animal Rights Social protection Social Services Activist Legislation

Animal Protection Activists’ Voice Concern Over Dog Meat Dishes in Uzbek Cafes

Uzbekistan’s animal protection society, Mehr va Oqibat, has raised concerns after receiving numerous complaints from locals and foreign visitors about cafes and restaurants in Uzbekistan offering dog meat dishes on their menus. Controversial Supply and Health Concerns According to Mehr va Oqibat, Uzbekistan lacks specialized farms for raising dogs for meat, unlike some other Asian countries. The organization suggests that state services responsible for capturing stray animals might be the primary suppliers of dog meat. Activists argue that the purported medicinal benefits of dog meat remain scientifically unproven. Additionally, they warn that dog meat can transmit viruses during preparation and consumption, posing potential health risks. Mehr va Oqibat has officially contacted Uzbekistan’s State Veterinary Committee and the Sanitary-Epidemiological Service to clarify whether dog meat consumption is permitted in Uzbekistan. The organization has also inquired as to whether cafes and restaurants have obtained official authorization to serve dog meat dishes. Cultural and Historical Context The consumption of dog meat in Uzbekistan, as well as in neighboring Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, is primarily linked to the Korean minorities residing in these countries. This practice is not widespread and is generally followed by small groups of ethnic Koreans and others, including Russians, Uzbeks, Kazakhs, and Kyrgyz, who consider it an “exotic” culinary choice. Ethnic Koreans were forcibly deported to Central Asia from the Russian Far East in the late 1930s under Joseph Stalin’s regime. Uzbekistan is now home to the largest Korean minority in Central Asia. As of 2023, over 200,000 ethnic Koreans lived in the country, according to the Uzbek Embassy in South Korea, making it the fifth-largest Korean diaspora in the world after the United States, China, Japan, and Canada. A Shift in Perspective The issue of dog meat consumption has garnered increasing attention globally. In January 2024, South Korea’s National Assembly passed a law banning the production and sale of dog meat, with the ban set to take effect in 2027. While dog meat consumption remains a niche practice in Uzbekistan, activists hope that raising awareness about ethical and health implications will encourage the authorities to address the issue comprehensively.

Japarov Activist Law & Order

Kyrgyzstan’s President Says Acquitted Protesters Deserved “At Least a Fine or Probation”

International rights groups welcomed the recent acquittal of more than 20 Kyrgyz activists and political figures who would have faced long jail sentences if convicted of plotting riots and other crimes, but Kyrgyzstan’s president says the defendants should have been fined or put on probation. President Sadyr Japarov commented about the case on Saturday in an interview with the official Kabar News Agency, one day after the activists were acquitted because of insufficient evidence. The activists were arrested in 2022 after protesting against a border demarcation agreement with Uzbekistan that involved the Kempir-Abad Dam and surrounding lands. “The court is a separate branch of government,” Japarov said. “I have been saying since the beginning that no one has the right to interfere in the work of the court. We must all obey the court's decision. We have no right to criticize whether it is legal or not. Whatever the court decides, whether it is right or wrong, we must agree.” Japarov continued: “But now, after the decision of the court, I can express my opinion. If I were a judge, I would give the organizers of this case some kind of punishment, at least a fine or probation.” The Kyrgyz president said the activists deserved a penalty because, in his view, they misled people into thinking that Kyrgyzstan was losing the entire dam in the border deal, when in fact it is being jointly managed with Uzbekistan. Prosecutors were seeking 20-year jail terms for the defendants. Several were also charged with trying to violently seize power. “We didn’t expect it, at all. We were crying from surprise,” Rita Karasartova, one of the accused activists said of the acquittal. She was quoted by Amnesty International, which described the charges as politically motivated. The prosecutions in the Kempir-Abad case fed into worries that Kyrgyzstan, under Japarov’s leadership, is walking back the relative freedoms that it has enjoyed in comparison to some of its Central Asian neighbors. Critics point to prosecutions of journalists and a new law that tightens control of foreign-funded non-governmental groups as signs of growing authoritarianism. Japarov has described some of the international criticism as an exercise in double standards and meddling in the country’s internal affairs.

Russia Activist

Turkmen Activist Malikberdy Allamyradov Disappears in Russia

About three days ago, Turkmen activist Malikberdy Allamyradov, who lives in Russia, ceased to be in contact, his associates reported. Allamyradov is best known for his single picket protest against restrictions on currency conversion imposed by the Turkmen authorities which he staged as a student at Kalmyk State University in the city of Elista in 2021. Allamyradov was detained by the police for violating the laws on protesting, but a court acquitted him, finding no wrongdoing in his actions. Allamyradov has since continued to criticize the Turkmen authorities on the internet. A few months ago, he was forced to change his place of residence after receiving a warning from an acquaintance that he was going to be deported to Turkmenistan. According to his friends, traces of a struggle and blood were found in Allamyradov’s place of residence.