Former deputy, Ravshan Jeenbekov, stated that the lawsuit against him continues in jail, but he doesn’t have access to his lawyer. In addition, the ex-deputy accused the administration of Bishkek’s pre-trial detention center #1 of illegally banning his correspondence with his relatives.
“According to article 19 of the Kyrgyz law “On the procedure and conditions for the detention of persons”, suspects and accused, detained in pre-trial detention centers are allowed to correspond with relatives and other persons without limiting the number of letters received and sent,” Jeenbekov said
However, after a recent interview, entitled “It takes up to $2 billion to stabilize the economy,” published on one of the information sites, according to Ravshan Jeenbekov, the administration of pre-trial detention center #1 tightened control over it.
“I was forbidden to correspond with my close relatives, whom I have not had the opportunity to meet with for more than a month due to restrictions imposed by order of the Chairman of the State Penitentiary Service, Melis Turganbaev. I regard this as moral pressure on me. And this is done in order to force me to stop any criticism of the current government,” said the ex-deputy.
In defense of his rights, Jeenbekov refers to international law in which such conditions of isolation, when a person is deprived of communication with relatives, are recognized as “incommunicado” and equated to torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of human dignity.
In addition, Ravshan Jeenbekov claims that the hearings on his case are going on, but at the same time he is deprived of the opportunity to communicate with his lawyer.
“How am I supposed to defend myself? According to the legislation of our republic, the right to legal assistance cannot be limited. However, the chairman of the State Penitentiary Service by his order forbade us to meet with defenders,” the ex-parliamentarian emphasized.
In his appeal, he requires the Attorney General, Otkurbek Dzhamshitov, to pay attention to what is happening and give a legal assessment of the actions of the State Penitentiary Service’s administration and judges.
The ACCA asked Indira Sautova, Executive Director of the Coalition against Torture in Kyrgyzstan, for comment on the situation.
“Lawyers were not included in the list of people who could move freely in territories where an emergency was introduced as part of the performance of their professional duties. This issue has not been resolved. The community of lawyers is turning to the Parliament, to the President, to the Commandant’s office. So far, unsuccessfully. Moreover, it is strange that the Ministry of Justice is silent and doesn’t give any clear position on this issue. The Ministry of Justice is a regulatory body that monitors the issuance of licenses to lawyers. It takes part in the commission. Each agency must fulfill its functional responsibilities. Information should reach government agencies,” says Sautova.
Recall, on December 12, 2019, the investigative service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs detained an opposition politician, former deputy of Jogorku Kenesh [the Parliament], Ravshan Jeenbekov, within the scope of a criminal investigation into the riots in the village of Koy-Tash on August 7-8, while detaining former President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Almazbek Atambaev.
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