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Kyrgyzstan Adds First Three Organizations to List of Foreign Agents

The Kyrgyz Ministry of Justice has posted a list of non-profit organizations that have been given the status of “foreign agent”. On August 27 the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan adopted a decree “On non-profit organizations”. The new law came into force on September 9, since when any NPO engaged in political activities and receiving funding from abroad must apply for inclusion as a foreign agent. The first three organizations to declare themselves as "foreign agents" are the Eurasian Club association of entrepreneurs, the business association JIA, and a branch of the environmental organization Fauna and Flora International. “Applications shall be submitted to the authorized body to maintain the register of NPOs within two months from the date of entry into force of this decree,” the Ministry of Justice explained to The Times of Central Asia. After receiving an application, the ministry has 60 days to verify the information provided. The law stipulates that foreign agent status can be removed if an organization has not received funds or property from foreign sources in the past 12 calendar months, or if it has not been engaged in political activity in the past 12 months. Kyrgyzstan's president Sadyr Japarov has promised the public that the authorities would not prosecute foreign agents and their representatives. “I, as head of state, guarantee that there will be no persecution. We are not a nuclear country. We are not going to fly into space yet. Our state has no secrets to hide from you and your donors,” Japarov said earlier this year.

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NGOs in Kyrgyzstan Have Two Months to Register as “Foreign Agents”

Kyrgyzstan's Ministry of Justice has approved the creation of a register for "non-governmental organizations performing the functions of a foreign representative", which gives authorities the right to inspect their activities. All non-profit agencies that receive foreign funding have been given two months from 16 May to submit documents to the ministry. Kyrgyz president Sadyr Zhaparov signed the law "on Foreign Representatives" on April 2, despite over 100 organizations and civil society figures appealing for him not to do so. Zhaparov made assurances at the time that non-governmental organizations would not be persecuted. Local NGOs funded from abroad that are engaged in political activities in Kyrgyzstan are now recognized as "performing the functions of a foreign representative", and are placed in a separate register. Organizations included in this register -- so-called 'foreign agents' -- may be subjected to various unscheduled inspections. Several international organizations, as well as the United States and certain countries in the European Union, have voiced criticisms of the new law. After it came into force, the Soros-Kyrgyzstan Foundation announced that it would be terminating its activities in Kyrgyzstan.

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Case Documents for 11 Temirov Live Journalists Submitted to Court in Kyrgyzstan

Legal documents regarding the cases of eleven current and former journalists of the Temirov Live project, who are accused of calling for mass riots, have been handed over to the court. According to the Pervomaisky District Court of Bishkek, the criminal case was received by the court office and will be handed over to the judge through the automatic distribution of cases of the AIS system, 24.kg news agency has stated. As previously reported by the Times of Central Asia, on January 16, Interior Ministry officers searched the office of Temirov Live and confiscated its editorial equipment. The police also searched the journalists' homes and detained eleven current and former employees of the publication. The motivation behind the case was one of Temirov's projects called "Ait, Ait Dese," which was published on YouTube in the fall of 2023, which the authorities claim called for mass disorder. At the time, Kyrgyz Interior Minister Ulanbek Niyazbekov said the detainees weren't journalists. "We cannot [help] but respond when they disseminate inaccurate information and engage in vilification. There are those who do not know the laws of journalism and do not have the relevant knowledge. They do not know and spread misleading information, sowing confusion among the people. I believe that we should not consider them as journalists," news agencies quoted the Interior Minister as saying. The detainees were Makhabat Tazhibek kyzy, Sapar Akunbekov, Azamat Ishenbekov, Saipidin Sultanaliyev, Aktilek Kaparov, Tynystan Asypbekov, Maksat Tazhibek uulu, Joodar Buzumov, Zhumabek Turdaliyev, Aike Beishekeeva and Akyl Orozbekov. They were all taken into custody in January for two months, until March 13. Later, the court released some of the detained journalists under house arrest and on their own recognizance. Already facing a backlash over its so-called "foreign agents law," Bishkek has pushed back against international criticism of the high-profile prosecution, saying the case is not politically motivated and that those facing charges are poorly educated people masquerading as journalists. In late 2022, Kyrgyzstan deported Bolot Temirov, an investigative reporter with dual Kyrgyz and Russian nationality. "Temirov was sent to Russia by force with no belongings, no phone, no money or international passport, and in violation of deportation procedures,” the head of Reporters Without Bordfers Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk, Jeanne Cavelier stated at the time.

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Kyrgyzstan’s Law on NGOs: What Alarms Human Rights Activists?

In April 2024 Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov signed a law on non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Now all NGOs must submit full financial reports and register with the Ministry of Justice. Despite the authorities' statements about the need for a document regulating the financing of such organizations, the law has numerous opponents. President Japarov himself claims that some NGOs have deceived donors by using foreign funds -- meant for roundtable discussions, training sessions and projects -- for personal purposes. "If you say that this is not true, I can prove it. Why do NGOs in developed countries register with the Ministry of Justice, tax service, open a bank account and do not do the same when they come to us? Or are we a second-rate country? No, we are not. We will not allow such dubious actions anymore," Japarov said after criticism from NGO representatives. Under the new legislation, an NGO that has received foreign aid will be called a "foreign representative". Public activists claim that the rule is consonant with the Russian law on foreign agent status for nonprofits that accept foreign funding. Such a situation will carry certain reputational risks: according to the law, organizations that receive funding from abroad and deal with political issues must be included in a special register and operate under the control of state bodies. In an interview with The Times of Central Asia, Azisbek Ashurov, head of the NGO 'Lawyers of Fergana Valley Without Borders' and a human rights activist, spoke about the pitfalls of the law. In Ashurov's opinion, the document is designed to limit the activities of the private sector. "We are concerned about the re-registration procedure itself. Either it is just an application procedure, or someone will approve, make decisions. When decisions are made, how transparent and non-corrupt will it be?" he asked. Ashurov gave the example that in Kyrgyzstan there are NGOs providing legal assistance to citizens. If there is a dispute with a government body, the decision is challenged in the courts. However, now such structures will be dependent on the state and will not be able to work fully independently. "State bodies have been authorized to interfere in the activities of NGOs. This is participation in their internal activities. We discuss some of our cases [via] collegiums, when lawyers discuss the strategy for different cases. Now, imagine, a representative of the state will sit and listen to confidential information that in the interest of the citizen we should not disclose. The balance is grossly upset. The adversarial principle is violated if we are preparing for court hearings against state bodies, for example, against the Ministry of Justice," Ashurov added. According to him, the Ministry of Justice was given the opportunity to suspend the activities of NGOs for violations. However, the current legislative framework doesn't specify the violations for which an NGO can be suspended. The law prescribes that state bodies may request information from NGOs -- however, it's not specified what kind of information should be provided. In...

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Open Society to Close its Foundation in Kyrgyzstan, Citing Law on Foreign-Funded NGOs

The Open Society Foundations said it will close its national foundation in Kyrgyzstan after the country’s parliament passed a new law that tightens control over non-governmental groups that receive foreign funding. Open Society, which was founded by billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros, said Monday that the law“imposes restrictive, broad, and ill-defined regulations” on internationally funded NGOs. The decision to pull out of Kyrgyzstan came two weeks after the country’s president, Sadyr Japarov, signed the law, saying more rigorous registration requirements and financial oversight would make non-governmental groups more accountable. The dispute between the government of Kyrgyzstan and foreign-funded groups represent a wider struggle over the direction of the Central Asian country. Opponents of Japarov believe he is systematically rolling back relative freedoms inKyrgyzstan. The president says local NGOS are embezzling money from foreign donors, an allegation denied by civil society groups. The Soros Foundation-Kyrgyzstan has spent more than $115 million on projects in education, public health, criminal justice, supplying water to rural communities and other areas since it opened in 1993, a year in which the Central Asian nation was mired in crisis after the fall of the Soviet Union, Open Society said. Under the new law, foreign-funded NGOs must “report broadly defined ‘political’ activities to the authorities” and risk uncertain consequences, Open Society said in a statement. Its president, Binaifer Nowrojee, said “this repressive new law will see civil society operate in a climate of uncertainty and intimidation.” The Open Society Foundations, which funds activities in more than 120 countries, says it aims to promote justice, human rights and democratic governance. It says it joins “policy debates on controversial issues that other funders might avoid” and the group has attracted criticism from conservative and authoritarian leaders in a number of countries. The United Nations has expressed concern about Kyrgyzstan’s so-called “foreign representatives” law. Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said on April 8 that many affected NGOs could close to avoid possible arbitrary checks by the authorities or having to pay for annual audits, or might end up self-censoring if they continue operations.

NGOs Foreign Agents Law

Bishkek Tightens Grip on NGOs

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan - Kyrgyzstan´s President said on Tuesday that he has approved a law that tightens control over non-governmental organizations which receive foreign funding, despite concerns that the measure could erode basic freedoms and services. President Sadyr Japarov defied international pressure to refrain from signing the law, which was passed by an overwhelming margin in Kyrgyzstan’s Parliament on March 14. In a Facebook post, he said the measure would make NGOs more accountable and increase transparency, an assertion that critics say is misleading. For decades, NGOs “just opened bank accounts, took money from foreign donors and used it as they saw fit, including for personal purposes,” Japarov said. “From now on they will be registered with the Ministry of Justice like everyone else. They will open bank accounts. They will start to work openly. There will be no more confusion.” NGOs “spread false information, saying 'we will be persecuted, we will be arrested as agents of a foreign state'. And the donors believed it,” said Japarov, adding that “there will be no persecution” of the groups. Critics say the law represents a slow-moving crackdown that rolls back efforts to develop civil society with the help of foreign governments and other institutions. “We're deeply disappointed that Kyrgyzstan's president Sadyr Japarov has signed the repressive law on 'foreign representatives,' citing misleading, untrue arguments about NGOs,” said the International Partnership for Human Rights, a Brussels-based group. “At least get the facts straight,” Syinat Sultanalieva, a Central Asia researcher for Human Rights Watch, said of Japarov’s statement, adding that it was wrong of Japarov to suggest that NGOs “never registered and did not submit reports and basically ran amok unchecked.” In his statement, Japarov bristled at criticism from Western-affiliated institutions and said there was a double standard. “Why do non-governmental organizations in developed Western countries register with the Ministry of Justice, the Tax Service, open a bank account and not do the same when they come to us?” he said. “Or are we a second-class country? No, we are not. We will no longer allow such dubious actions.” Japarov had previously accused NGOs of spreading “inaccurate information,” emphasizing that the draft law “is close to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) adopted in 1938 in the United States.”. Some opponents claim it is based on Russia´s “foreign agents” law, and could be used as an instrument of oppression.