Press Release – For immediate release
11 June 2020
Contact: World Uyghur Congress www.uyghurcongress.org
+49 89 5432 1999 or [email protected]

The WUC is concerned for the welfare and safety of Kamil Ruziev after he was detained by Kyrgyz security services on dubious grounds on 29 May 2020 and sentenced to house arrest on 31 May 2020. The WUC calls for Mr. Ruziev’s rights to be respected, for the false charges against him to be dropped and for his immediate release from detention.

Mr. Ruziev is a prominent human rights defender and activist, as well as an ethnic Uyghur living in Kyrgyzstan. He has been active on Uyghur human rights causes, but has focused on human rights violations in Kyrgyzstan, especially the alleged use of torture by the Kyrgyz authorities and has also provided legal assistance in domestic violence cases, as head of the Ventus human rights organization. Mr. Ruziev had reported that he was harassed, intimidated, and threatened by Kyrgyz security personnel for his activities. He had filed complaints against Kyrgyz security officers and had launched a lawsuit against the Kyrgyz State National Security Committee and the prosecutor’s office for not investigating his complaints of threats against him. These same authorities that had threatened and harassed him later announced that he was under investigation on dubious criminal charges for allegedly falsifying medical certificates about this health condition, which appear to be designed to silence him and hinder his work.

Mr. Ruziev has stated that these allegations were levied against him after he began actively working to combat the use of torture against civilians in Issyk-Kul and by drawing attention to violence and corruption on behalf of local authorities. He further stated that a police officer from Karakol had threatened to kill him on numerous occasions over the past year, but the police officer escaped any punishment or review.

“We are deeply concerned at the detention of Mr. Ruziev by the Kyrgyz authorities and call on the Kyrgyz government to refrain from conducting acts of reprisals against human rights defenders,” WUC President Dolkun Isa stated. “Mr. Ruziev’s work is making significant contributions to improving the lives of Kyrgyz people. The Kyrgyz government should listen to his voice, not try to silence it.”

The WUC, therefore, urges the Kyrgyz government to immediately release Mr. Ruziev, respect his basic rights and freedoms, and to refrain from harassment and intimidation of human rights defenders. The Kyrgyz government should work with Mr. Ruziev to stop the use of torture, fight corruption, and hold accountable police and security officers who abuse their power. Human rights defenders play an important role in the maintenance and functioning of a free and peaceful society; silencing them further compounds existing problems and results in more human suffering. Acts of reprisals against human rights defenders are a serious violation of Kyrgyzstan’s obligations under international law and an affront to human dignity. 

We urge all relevant authorities to work with the government of Kyrgyzstan to ensure that Mr. Ruziev’s rights are respected and that he is not punished for calling attention to human rights violations.