Two Uzbek asylum seekers have been missing since July 30, 2009, from the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, raising fears that they were forcibly returned to Uzbekistan.

A review hearing related to last year’s protests in southern Kyrgyzstan is a crucial opportunity for the Kyrgyz authorities to investigate the defendants’ torture allegations and to ensure justice.

  The Kyrgyz government should reverse its decision to bar a Russian human rights defender from visiting Kyrgyzstan, Human Rights Watch said today.

Migrant construction workers in Russia face widespread abuse both in and outside of the workplace, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. In a climate of rising hate-motivated violence against migrants, exacerbated by the global financial crisis, the Russian government is failing to protect these workers from abusive employers, employment agencies, and police.

An Uzbek refugee who was abducted last year in Kyrgyzstan is now believed to be on trial in Uzbekistan, Human Rights Watch said today. Haiatjon Juraboev is among more than a dozen refugees forcibly returned to Uzbekistan from Kyrgyzstan since 2005

Lesbian and bisexual women and transgender men face violent abuse, including rape, in Kyrgyzstan, both in family settings and from strangers on the street, Human Rights Watch said in a report issued today. The report calls on the Kyrgyz government to acknowledge the problem and protect the victims, and on the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and other European institutions to step up their response to violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Kyrgyz authorities should not forcibly return an Uzbek asylum seeker to Uzbekistan, Human Rights Watch said today.

Bishkek police carried out a warrantless raid on the community center of an organization working for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in violation of the right to freedom of association, Human Rights Watch said today.