Kyrgyzstan: the number of human rights violations has increased during a pandemic

The global COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased violations of fundamental rights in Kyrgyzstan, as the country’s authorities have limited these rights in ways that go beyond what is justified by public health considerations. This is stated in the report compiled by the International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) and the public foundation “Legal Prosperity”.

The authors of the document note that the authorities of the republic tried to suppress discussion of issues related to COVID-19 in the media and social networks; intimidated and harassed those who criticized the government’s response to the pandemic; and without proper discussion and consultation, promoted laws that negatively affect the situation of civil society and the media.

Emergency regimes (emergency situation throughout the country and the state of emergency in Bishkek and some regions) provided for a number of restrictions, in particular, on freedom of movement and assembly. In view of these restrictions, Kyrgyzstan informed the UN Secretary General of its derogation from the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) that protect these two rights. The republic has become the only Central Asian country to take this exceptional step in the context of the coronavirus pandemic.

However, the introduction of the state of emergency also negatively affected the protection of other rights in addition to those formally suspended.

For example, under emergency conditions, law enforcement agencies stopped, issued warnings and fined thousands of people for violating curfew and other rules.

“Individuals, who were detained for violating curfew, were not provided with legal assistance and were held for hours in overcrowded police cells, where they were at increased risk of contracting COVID-19. Some of the legal provisions, which were introduced to punish violations of emergency regime rules, are unclear and provide for disproportionately harsh penalties such as heavy fines and even imprisonment. At the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, lawyers faced difficulties in assisting clients as they were not exempt from travel restrictions imposed in Bishkek and other regions,” the report noted.

The actions of the authorities during this period led to the fact that for several weeks the journalists also did not have accreditation to work in the capital and other regions, where there was the state of emergency, and therefore could not effectively carry out their professional activities.

In addition, journalists reported problems with obtaining the necessary information from government officials about the measures taken in the fight against coronavirus. The restrictive media policy primarily affected independent publication offices, while state-owned media were used as platforms to transfer government information about the pandemic.

In addition, the State Committee for National Security of the Kyrgyz Republic (SCNS) detained, threatened and forced users of social networks to “publicly apologize” for messages containing allegedly “false” information about the pandemic. Among them were medical professionals who drew attention to the lack of appropriate protective equipment against COVID-19 in medical institutions.

Also, as the authors of the report note, in the context of the pandemic in Kyrgyzstan, there were attempts to promote controversial bills, such as the law “On manipulation of information”, as well as the widely criticized bill on NGOs.

The latter document increased an already heavy accountability burden for NGOs, and civil society fears that it could be used to intimidate non-governmental organizations that are inconvenient for the authorities.

As part of the emergency measures, which were implemented in Bishkek and other regions, any assembly was prohibited.

“However, in practice, law enforcement agencies applied this ban selectively, allowing some peaceful protests to be carried out and dispersing others, including protests in which participants respected social distancing rules and wore protective masks,” the authors of the report note.

During the pandemic, the risk of contracting the coronavirus infection has increased appreciably in institutions of the penitentiary system. The amnesty, adopted in mid-May 2020, was supposed to solve this problem. It provided for the release of certain categories of prisoners, including the elderly people and persons with disabilities.

“The practical impact of the amnesty was limited as it did not apply to prisoners convicted of certain crimes, even if they fell under the category eligible for release. The amnesty did not apply to seriously ill patients either. The authorities did not release the elderly, sick human rights defender Azimzhan Askarov, despite repeated calls from civil society and the international community. He also did not receive adequate medical care due to his worsening condition, and in July 2020 he tragically died in prison from pneumonia, known as a serious aftereffect of COVID-19,” the report says.

During the pandemic, the number of cases of domestic violence also increased in the republic, while it became more difficult for victims to avoid violence and seek help due to quarantine measures. The crisis centers were also unable to continue operating as usual during the quarantine.

A positive aspect was the amendments to legislation adopted during the pandemic, expanding the list of grounds on which suspects of domestic violence can be temporarily detained in order to protect victims. However, the lack of effective access to justice for victims remains a key problem.