Kyrgyzstan: three HRDs detained for protesting on scarce drinking water supplies
Event- Country
- Kyrgyzstan
- Initial Date
- Jul 18, 2023
- Event Description
The Sokuluk district court in Kyrgyzstan's north has sent noted blogger Ertai Iskakov and two activists, Bakyt Balbaev and Baktybek Bekbolotov, to pretrial detention until September 15 over last week's rally by two villages to demand a resumption of drinking water supplies. The men were charged with hooliganism and illegally blocking a highway. The men's lawyers told RFE/RL that their clients pleaded not guilty. Isakov is a well-known blogger who raises social issues in his reports. Several villages near Bishkek, the capital, have faced drinking water shortages for days.
- Impact of Event
- 3
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of expression
- Offline
- Online
- Right to liberty and security
- Right to Protest
- Freedom of expression
- HRD
- Blogger/ Social Media Activist
- Environmental rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Event Location
Latitude: 42.856809040827336
Longitude: 74.29849657539503
- Event Location
- Summary for Publications
On 18 July 2023, blogger Ertai Iskakov and HRDs Bakyt Balbaev and Baktybek Bekbolotov, were sent to pretrial detention by the court after protesting the lack of drinking water supplies in Sokuluk, Kyrgyzstan.