The most important, former deputy Asya Sasykbaeva, remains in prison despite her health problems. Other prisoners like her were denied house arrest. President Zhaparov took aim at those who opposed his border deal with Uzbekistan.
Moscow () – One of the main protagonists of the so-called Kempir-Abad affair, former deputy Asya Sasykbaeva, is going through a very difficult phase of the detention to which she is subjected, due to the worsening of the chronic illnesses she has suffered for a long time. This was stated to the press by her lawyer, Rabiga Sydykova, explaining that the treatment she is receiving in prison would be ineffective.
Despite joint pain and a severe cough, the prison’s medical directorate considers that Sasykbaeva can remain in her cell, since “there is no urgent need for hospitalization”, despite the fact that the walls of the place where she is being held they are covered in mold everywhere, denounces the lawyer. It is hoped that the pressure of public opinion will be able to convince those responsible to have her examined by a specialist in a well-equipped clinic, “since she does not like our doctors”, as the management responded in a derogatory tone to the questions from the journalists. .
Sasykbaeva, 71, who has been in jail since last November, is a very popular politician. She was also the speaker of the Bishkek parliament, and in October 2022 she had been included in the People’s Committee for the Defense of the Kempir-Abad dam, which according to the agreements of President Zhaparov will be handed over to Uzbekistan to solve border problems. The authorities detained her along with 20 other politicians and activists, who also remain in jail, for fomenting mass riots that were later violently suppressed by law enforcement.
A few days ago, the former deputy made it known that the investigators had accused her of other crimes, but that the details of the new charges had not been communicated to her. She was also told that her preventive detention had been extended until April.
The group of detainees in this case, together with Sasykbaeva, consider that the true criminal act is the one committed by the authorities by preventing the will of the people from being expressed and imposing political persecution on them when they were only guilty of creating the committee to give voice to the protests.
In addition to Sasykbaeva, other elderly women are imprisoned. On the occasion of March 8, many called for them to be transferred to at least house arrest, since a long stay in the uncomfortable conditions of the isolation cells of the Kyrgyz prison could ruin her health.
In mid-January, the news spread that the Bishkek Ministry of Interior had closed the entire Kempir-Abad case, without commenting to explain this decision. In an earlier interview with the state agency kabarPresident Zaparov had declared that “more than 90 per cent of the detainees had participated in one way or another in the negotiations to resolve the border issues, and were fully informed that the Kempir-Abad affair was moving towards a very favorable solution for Kyrgyzstan”.
In his opinion, therefore, they are responsible for “agitating public opinion without reason.” They thus became guilty of another coup attempt, a very common practice in post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan, using a very sensitive issue as a weapon, since “they had no other way to impede the course of the reforms initiated in the last two years “.
