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EU: Tackle Central Asia Rights Abuses

Afghanistan Crisis No Excuse to Ignore Rights Concerns

(Brussels) – The European Union should urge Central Asian governments at a gathering on November 22, 2021, to increase efforts to protect human rights, at a time when Afghanistan and regional issues are high on the agenda, Human Rights Watch said…
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the five Central Asian countries at the 15th EU-Central Asia Ministerial Meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on July 07, 2019.
News

How are the Authorities in Central Asia Trying to Control the Internet?

An Interview with Hugh Williamson

CABAR.asia: Recently, the authorities of the Central Asian countries have been actively regulating online activities, adopting various laws that help them control the internet. How are things going with the freedom of the internet, with internet…
Uzbekistan’s media landscape, made up of independent, state-sponsored, and international Uzbek and Russian language media outlets, is in a period of growth and change, as journalists test the boundaries of respect for free expression.
News

Evicted from Their Office, Al Jazeera Works from a Front Yard in Tunisia

Authorities Arbitrarily Target Media and Critics

I first met Lotfi Hajji some 15 years ago, after Tunisian authorities under President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali had refused a request by Al Jazeera, the Qatar-funded pan-Arab television station, to accredit the Tunisian journalist as their local…
Al Jazeera correspondent Lotfi Hajji reporting from Tunis after Tunisian authorities evicted the pan-Arab television network from its offices, November 5, 2021. 
News

Kyrgyzstan: Extend Time for Massive Review of Laws

Process Has Been Rushed, More Time Needed for Effective Consideration

(Bishkek) – Kyrgyzstan should extend the time for completion of a massive inventory of its legal system, Human Rights Watch said today.   The initial completion date to review and, where appropriate, amend 356 laws was set for December 31,…
Президент Кыргызстана Садыр Джапаров на военном параде в честь Дня Независимости на площади Ала-Тоо в центре Бишкека, Кыргызстан. 31 августа 2021 г.
News

Tunisia: Attack on Director of LGBT Group

Police Officers Suspected; Investigation Needed

Two police officers apparently brutally attacked the director of a Tunis-based LGBT rights group on October 21, 2021, Human Rights Watch said today. The attack on Badr Baabou took place against a backdrop of mounting abuses targeting LGBT activists by…
Badr Baabou, director of Damj Association for Justice and Equality, following his assault by suspected police officers in Tunisia. © 2021 Badr Baabou
News

Tunisia: President’s Repressive Policies Abrogate Rights

Dozens Placed Under Arbitrary House Arrests

(Tunis) – Arbitrary and politically motivated acts of repression have proliferated in Tunisia since July 25, 2021, when President Kais Saied suspended parliament, Human Rights Watch said today. He also lifted parliamentary immunity, dismissed the head…
Tunisian President Kais Saied raises his fist to bystanders as he walks along the avenue Bourguiba in Tunis, Tunisia, August 1, 2021.
News

Kyrgyzstan: “False Information” Law Threatens Free Speech

President Should Veto Legislation, Protect Media Freedom

(Bishkek) – Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov should veto the new law on “false information” when it reaches him for signature, Human Rights Watch said today. The law authorizes the government to block certain types of information without a…
Kyrgyzstan's Prime Minister Sadyr Japarov delivers a speech during a session of parliament in Bishkek, October 16, 2020.
News

Tunisia: President’s Seizure of Powers Threatens Rights

A Dangerous Move Capitalizes on Popular Frustration

(Tunis) – Tunisian President Kais Saied should safeguard the human rights of all Tunisians and reverse any repressive measures taken since announcing July 25 measures that largely concentrate powers in his office, Human Rights Watch said today. On…
Kais Saied during the sworn ceremony in Bardo, Tunis, Tunisia on October 23, 2019.
News

Kyrgyzstan: A Year On, Demand for Justice for Azimjon Askarov’s Death

Human Rights Defender Died in Arbitrary Detention

(Brussels) – Kyrgyzstan authorities have yet to conduct an independent investigation into the death in detention on July 25, 2020, of the human rights defender and journalist Azimjon Askarov, Human Rights Watch, the Committee to Protect Journalists,…
Grave of human rights defender Azimjon Askarov, who was arbitrarily arrested, tortured, convicted after an unfair trial in Kyrgyzstan and passed away in detention on June 25, 2020.
News

Kyrgyzstan: Azimjon Askarov’s Family Awaits Justice

Internal Inquiry Closed, Effective Independent Investigation Needed

(Berlin) – Kyrgyz authorities should fulfill their obligation to carry out a thorough, independent investigation into the death in custody of the human rights defender Azimjon Askarov on July 25, 2020, Human Rights Watch said today after a government…
Ethnic Uzbek journalist Azimzhan Askarov, who was arbitrarily arrested, tortured, convicted after an unfair trial and jailed for life looks through metal bars during hearings at the Bishkek regional court, Kyrgyzstan.
News

Turkey/Kyrgyzstan: Rendition of Turkish-Kyrgyz Educator

Risk of Further Arbitrary Detention and Unfair Trial

(Berlin) – Turkish and Kyrgyz authorities abducted, forcibly disappeared, and extrajudicially transferred a dual Turkish-Kyrgyz national living in Bishkek to Turkey, Human Rights Watch said today. The actions included egregious violations of…
Screenshot of a broadcast on TRT TV on July 5 2021, in which Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announces that the intelligence services have transported Orhan İnandı from Kyrgyzstan to Turkey.
News

Children's Rights and Alternative Care

Submission to the Committee on the Rights of the Child

Submission to the Committee on the Rights of the Child regarding Children’s Rights and Alternative Care June 30, 2021 Human Rights Watch welcomes the opportunity to provide input to the Committee on the Rights of the Child ahead of its upcoming Day…
News

Kyrgyzstan: Missing Dual Turkish-Kyrgyz Citizen Risks Torture, Removal to Turkey

Authorities Should Investigate; Guarantee Safety

(Bishkek) – Kyrgyz authorities should investigate the disappearance of Orhan İnandı, founder of a network of education institutions in Kyrgyzstan, amid concern that he may be forcibly deported to Turkey, Human Rights Watch said today. İnandı, a…
Protestors in central Bishkek demanding Orhan Inandi, who disappeared on May 31, be found, hold posters with his image that read “Orhan Inandi is a Kyrgyz citizen! He should be found!”
News

Documentary Calls for Justice for Kyrgyzstan’s Azimjon Askarov

EU Should Press for Inquiry Over Death of Rights Defender

On July 25, 2020, Azimjon Askarov, a 69-year-old human rights defender from Kyrgyzstan, died in prison after contracting pneumonia. Askarov had been in prison for 10 years, having been given a life sentence following an unjust and unfair trial in 2010…
Azimzhan Askarov Pictured here during hearings at the Bishkek regional court, Kyrgyzstan, October 4th, 2016.  
News

Middle East/North Africa: End Violent Punishment of Children

Human Rights Watch Introduces Country Index Based on Laws, Policies

(Beirut) – Governments in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) should outlaw the violent discipline of children, Human Rights Watch said today, introducing an index categorizing countries in the region based on their laws and policies. The MENA…
2020 Dadu Shin for Human Rights Watch
News

Kyrgyzstan: Proposed Legal Changes Threaten Political Dissent

Reject Dangerous Amendments; Guarantee Freedom of Expression, Association

(Bishkek) – Kyrgyz authorities are considering amendments to the Criminal and Criminal Procedural Codes that would put the political opposition and human rights groups at heightened risk, Human Rights Watch said today. On April 21, 2021, Kyrgyzstan’s…
Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Zhaparov holds presidential standard during his inauguration ceremony in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.