Kyrgyzstan: Police General was put in jail for repeat offenders

Former Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Kyrgyzstan Kursan Asanov was detained on September 14 on suspicion of a violent seizure of power.

As his lawyer Taalaigul Toktakunova told the media, the former official was first summoned for interrogation in connection with the fake information spreading on the Internet as a witness. A few hours later it became known that he was taken into custody.

“He is charged with Article 309, Forcible seizure of power, of the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic,” Toktakunova said.

The basis for this accusation was an audio recording of a conversation between Kursan Asanov and a man whose voice resembles the voice of Almaz Sarybaevev, a former member of the board of directors of the Tolubai commercial bank (he was later arrested, too). This audio is widely spread on social networks of the Kyrgyz segment of the Internet.

The caption to the video says Asanov, MP Zhanar Akayev, and other politicians are negotiating an armed seizure of power. It should be noted that three criminal cases were previously initiated against Kursan Asanov, which were combined by the Pervomayskiy District Court of Bishkek into one proceeding and are being considered simultaneously.

According to the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Kyrgyz Republic from February 2020, in the first case, he is charged with the illegal dispatch of two employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic to him as his assistant and security guard for the execution of purely personal, family-related assignments, in connection with which the state suffered damage of  $ 9 351 (793 thousand soms).

The second case concerns not only Kursan Asanov but also his imprisoned son (okul ball) Tursunbek Beishenbekov, who is accused of disseminating “deliberately false information associated with accusations of committing grave and especially grave crimes” in relation to former Deputy Prime Minister Zhenish Razakov.

The third case was initiated after the events in Koy-Tash, which took place in August 2019. In particular, the ex-deputy head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was accused of “hiding material evidence and other items of value and importance for the investigation, which were later transferred to them by the supporters of Almazbek Atambayev”.

In January 2021, Kursan Asanov was handed a notice of suspicion of committing a crime under Article 245 “Seizure of buildings and structures” of the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic. He was detained for two months and released under house arrest in April.

After the recent arrest of Asanov, information appeared in the media and social networks that he was placed in the prу-trial detention center № 50 – a special regime isolation ward. The Kyrgyz human rights center “Candle of the Century (Kylym Shamy)” expressed concern about the placement of Kursan Asanov in that specific  jail and demands:

1. From the General Prosecutor’s Office, judicial authorities of the Kyrgyz Republic: urgently revise the measure of restraint for Kursan Asanov, since his placement in detention facility № 50 is unacceptable.
2. From the State Penitentiary Service of the Kyrgyz Republic: to take all measures to ensure the safety of Kursan Asanov during his stay in detention facility No. 50.

“Kursan Asanov is a general of the police, he held the post of the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic. Placing him in a special regime pre-trial detention center, where persons who have committed grave and especially grave crimes, including terrorists, repeat offenders, and members of organized criminal groups, are serving their sentences, raises concerns about the safety of his life and health, ”the statement said.

Human rights activists point out that the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners require an individual risk assessment, which is extremely important to ensure the personal safety of each prisoner who may be the target of bullying and violence. Such people in no case should be kept with persons capable of such actions.

The Law of the Kyrgyz Republic On the procedure and conditions of detention of persons detained on suspicion and accusation of committing crimes requires that suspects and accused, who were employees of the internal affairs bodies, be placed separately from other suspects and accused.

“Not long ago, in April 2017, an attempt was made to commit suicide in Kyrgyzstan by the then detained, the current President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Sadyr Zhaparov. His family said that he was forced to say that this was a suicide attempt and that the authorities were putting pressure on him. Then our organization also appealed to the authorities with a demand to investigate this fact and ensure the safety of Japarov, “the Candle of the Century (Kylym Shamy) notes.

The human rights organization also recalled that detention facility № 50 is known for the sad events that took place in October 2015, when there was a mass escape of prisoners and the murders of three employees of this institution. These facts indicate that the institution itself and its walls are not provided with proper security.