What changed

B100230/2024

B100228/2024

Motion for a European Parliament resolution on the humanHuman rights situation in Kyrgyzstan, in particular the case of Temirlan Sultanbekov

(2024/2993(RSP))

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on Kyrgyzstan,

- having regard to theRules EU-Kyrgyzstan150(5) Enhancedof Partnershipits andRules Cooperationof Agreement,Procedure,

having regard to the EU-Kyrgyzstan 14th Human Rights Dialogue of 21 November 2024,

A. whereas human rights and fundamental freedoms in the Kyrgyz Republic have degraded in recent years, seeing the republic’s steady transformation away from being Central Asia’s beacon of democracy;

having regard to Rule 150 (5) of its Rules of Procedure,

B. whereas major constitutional changes adopted in 2021 significantly increased presidential authority and reduce the size and role of the parliament; whereas both the judiciary and vigilante violence are increasingly used to suppress political opponents and civil society critics;

Whereas Kyrgyzstan has been regarded as the most democratic country in the region with a vibrant civil society and free media; whereas the situation has been changing in recent years with a growing crack down on independent media and an authoritarian remodelling of Kyrgyzstan’s media sphere;

C. whereas the decline has thereby prompted Freedom House in 2021 to designate Kyrgyzstan as ‘not free’ in the Global Freedom Score, for the first time since 2010;

Whereas legislation that targets independent media, civil society organisations ’activities and religious freedom has a negative impact on the Kyrgyz society and is in direct contravention of Kyrgyzstan’s international commitments;

D. whereas on November 15, the Sverdlovsky District Court placed Kyrgyzstan Social Democrats party leader Temirlan Sultanbekov, chief campaigner Irina Karamushkina and party member Roza Turksever in the pre-trial detention centre, until January 2025, arrested on vote buying allegations;

Whereas ahead of November’s municipal elections, a Bishkek district court ordered the pre-trial detention of Temirlan Sultanbekov, leader of the Social Democrats Party, and of other party officials until 13 January 2025; whereas they were arrested on vote-buying allegations, with an audiotape of unknown origin serving as the primary evidence; whereas that same day, Sultanbekov began a hunger strike in protest and since then his physical conditions are seriously deteriorating; whereas following the allegations the Bishkek Territorial Election Commission announced none of the Social Democrats’ candidates in Bishkek were eligible to compete;

E. whereas the Bishkek Territorial Election Commission subsequently disqualified all of the Social Democrats party's municipal candidates ahead of municipal elections;

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F. whereas this is not the first time the Kyrgyz administration has sought to neutralize opposition parties; whereas in 2022 the Ata-Meken party was appeased by appointing its leader, Omurbek Tekebayev as an ambassador, while in March this year Adakhan Madumarov, leader of Butun Kyrgyzstan party, lost his seat in parliament on a decade-old treason charge;

Expresses concern at the backsliding of political opposition, media freedom and freedom of expression in Kyrgyzstan and arbitrary arrests, acts of violence, harassment, intimidation and censorship against independent media, journalists and bloggers in the country, as well as against political opposition, civil society, religious minorities, marginalised and vulnerable groups;

G. whereas in 2024 an unprecedented attack on media and civil society continued to take place, with the Kyrgyz Supreme Court decision to upheld the liquidation of acclaimed investigative outlet Kloop Media and, in October, the conviction of four journalists from the independent You Tube channels Temirov Live and Ait Ait Dese reportedly on unsupported evidence and seen by international human rights organisations as an attempt to muzzle independent journalism;

1. Calls on the Kyrgyz authorities to urgentlyensure releasethat Sultanbekovits laws and thepractices otherrelating partyto officialsdemocratic anddiscourse, tocivil ensureand theirpolitical rightrights, tofreedom dueof processspeech and thatmedia theirare politicalaligned andwith civilinternational rightsstandards, areincluding fullythe upheld;EU-Kyrgyzstan Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement;

Calls on the Kyrgyz authorities to respect human rights and uphold democratic standards and fundamental freedoms in line with the EU-Kyrgyzstan Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement and the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP +) and for the benefit of all citizens of Kyrgyzstan;

2. Urges the Kyrgyz government to halt its campaign of intimidation and legal persecution against opposition parties, independent media outlets and journalists;

Urges the Kyrgyz parliament to retract its support from the “false information law” and the law on “Foreign Representatives”;

3. Calls on the Kyrgyz authorities to immediately release all arbitrarily detained politicians, human rights defenders, media workers and journalists; urges the Kyrgyz authorities, in this regard, to drop all charges against Makhabat Tazhibek Kyzy, Azamat Ishenbekov, Aktilek Kaparov, and Ayke Beishekeeva, journalists from Temirov Live and Ait Ait Dese channels;

Calls on the Kyrgyz government to avoid assisting the Russian Federation in evading sanctions imposed on Russia over its war of aggression against Ukraine;

4. Urges the Kyrgyz authorities to reverse its ruling on Kloop Media and other critical voices, allowing Kloop and all other independent news sources to operate without interference or fear of retaliation or reprisals;

5. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President ofVP/HR, the Commission/High Representative ofEU theSpecial UnionRepresentative for Foreign AffairsCentral andAsia, Securitythe Policy,governments theand parliaments of the Member States andStates, the GovernmentUN Human Rights Council and Parliamentthe ofKyrgyz Kyrgyzstan.authorities.