Document - Kyrgyzstan: Further information: No grounds for charges: Ulugbek Abdusalamov
Further Information on UA: 144/10 Index: EUR 58/012/2010 KYRGYZSTAN Date: 16 August 2010
URGENT ACTION
no grounds for charges
Prisonser of conscience Ulugbek Abdusalamov has been charged after being transferred to hospital due to continuing serious heart pains.
Amnesty International has been informed that Ulugbek Abdusalamov was transferred to the detainees’ ward of Jalal-Abad hospital on 7 August. He is reportedly handcuffed and under constant police supervision. It is the third time that he has been in hospital since he was detained on 14 June. The authorities have repeatedly returned him to police detention despite the poor conditions in the police detention centre in Jalal-Abad city, exacerbating Ulugbek Abdusalamov’s ill-health, which includes a serious heart disorder.
On 10 August, following almost two months of investigations, Ulugbek Abdusalamov was charged according to four Articles of the Kyrgyzstani Criminal Code, including ‘organizing and participating in mass disorder’, ‘inciting ethnic hatred’ and ‘separatist activities aimed at destroying the territorial integrity of the state.’ Ulugbek Abdusalamov risks being sentenced to between three and 12 years’ imprisonment.
Amnesty International is reiterating its call for the immediate and unconditional release of Ulugbek Abdusalmov who should not be returned to detention under any circumstances.
Amnesty International maintains that the charges against Ulugbek Abdusalamov are unfounded and constitute part of a broader pattern of obstruction and harassment by the Kyrgyzstani authorities, predominantly of active members of the ethnic Uzbek community, following the violence which broke out on 10 June in southern Kyrgyzstan.
PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Russian, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, English or your own language:
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Calling on the authorities not to return Ulugbek Abdusalamov to police detention under any circumstances;
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Urging the authorities to remove Ulugbek Abdusalamov’s handcuffs, given that he is under constant guard in hospital;
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Calling on the authorities to ensure that Ulugbek Abdusalamov receives effective and professional medical care for his heart condition and other health concerns, including access to an independent medical investigation, if he requests it;
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Calling on the authorities to release prisoner of conscience, Ulugbek Abdusalamov, immediately and unconditionally.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 27 SEPTEMBER 2010 TO:
Minister of Internal Affairs
Kubatbek Baibolov
Frunze Street, 469
Bishkek 720040
KYRGYZSTAN
Fax: +996 312 68 20 44
Email: pressa@mail.mvd.kg
Salutation: Dear Minister
General Prosecutor
Baitemir Ibraev
72, Orozbekova Street
Bishkek 720040
KYRGYZSTAN
Fax: +996 312 66 54 11
Email: genproc@bishkek.gov.kg
Salutation: Dear General Prosecutor
And copies to:
President
Roza Otunbaeva
Dom Pravitelstva
Bishkek 720003
KYRGYZSTAN
Fax: +996 312 62 50 12
Email: admin@kyrgyz-el.kg
Salutation: Dear President
Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date. This is the Second update of UA 144/10. Further information: www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/EUR58/010/2010/en
URGENT ACTION
no grounds for charges
ADditional Information
Ulugbek Abdusalamov is a prominent member of the Uzbek community in the Jalal-Abad region of southern Kyrgyzstan, and Chief Editor of the regional Uzbek newspaper Didor (Meeting, in Russian). He was detained on 14 June on charges of “inciting ethnic hatred” under Article 299 of the Kyrgyzstani Criminal Code and transferred to a police detention centre in the town of Jalal-Abad two days later. Although suspects should legally be held in a pre-trial remand prison, there is no such facility in Jalal-Abad, so Ulugbek Abdusalamov has been held in the police detention centre where conditions are said to be very poor.
The Jalal-Abad prosecutor's office has stated that the charges against Ulugbek Abdusalamov have been brought during an investigation into a violent incident which took place in the A. Batirov University in Jalal-Abad town on 19 May. However, Ulugbek Abdusalamov was not in Jalal-Abad, but working in the capital, Bishkek, that day. The authorities have also claimed that two articles published by Ulugbek Abdusalamov in his newspaper warrant the charge brought against him. Amnesty International has seen both articles and believes that neither constitutes incitement to ethnic hatred.
Ulugbek Abdusalamov was transferred to hospital on 29 June, after six requests by his lawyer. On 9 July, he was returned to police detention. Ulugbek Abdusalamov’s health continued to suffer and, at the insistence of his lawyer, on 24 July he was re-admitted to hospital where he was treated under police guard before being returned once more to the police detention centre. Despite requests by Ulugbek Abdusalamov's lawyer to have him transferred to house arrest, due to his poor state of health, the terms of his detention have not been changed. In 2009 he had a cerebral haemorrhage; he suffers from high blood pressure, stomach ailments and a heart condition, and requires constant medical care.
Amnesty International is concerned that following the violence in the south of the country which began on 10 June members of the ethnic Uzbek community have been disproportionately targeted by the Kyrgyzstani security services who are conducting investigations into the June violence. Credible reports suggest that human rights defenders, journalists and members of the civil society have been and are being harassed, detained and ill-treated, leading to forced confessions.
Further Information on UA: 144/10 Index: EUR 58/012/2010 Issue Date: 16 August 2010
