The Akyikatchy (Ombudsman) Institution of the Kyrgyz Republic intends to join the Ombudsman Association of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OICOA).

This decision was made by the Ombudsman Institution of the Kyrgyz Republic following the participation of Akyikatchy of the Kyrgyz Republic Dzhamilia Dzhamanbaeva in the OICOA General Assembly Meeting in Istanbul.

During the 3^rd OICOA General Assembly Meeting, Dzhamilia Dzhamanbaeva noted that important initiatives in the field of freedom and human rights protection have been implemented within the activities of the OICOA.

It's worth mentioning that Kyrgyzstan participated as an observer in the Meeting.

"The Ombudsman Institution of Kyrgyzstan is closely monitoring the activities of the OIC Ombudsman Association with great interest since the majority of Kyrgyzstan's citizens practice Islam. Protecting citizens' rights to religious freedom is one of the key priorities of the Ombudsman Institutution of Kyrgyzstan," stated Dzhamilia Dzhamanbaeva during the Meeting.

“The importance of collaboration among national human rights organizations that are members of the OIC Ombudsman Association in the field of human rights protection” was discussed in the Meeting. Additionally, they emphasized the need to continue the dialogue to enhance the effectiveness of the Ombudsman's work.

As a result of the trip to Turkiye, the Ombudsman Institutution of KR decided to join this Association because significant initiatives regarding the protection of human rights and freedom of religion are being discussed and implemented within the framework of the OIC Ombudsman Association.

"The Ombudsman Institutution of Kyrgyzstan participated in the meeting as an observer. By joining the association, the Ombudsman Institutution of Kyrgyzstan will be able to express its positions on protecting citizens' rights to freedom of religion within the OIC," believes Dzhamanbaeva.

The Institutution is currently preparing an official application for OICOA membership.

Background

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation Ombudsman Association (OICOA) was established in Islamabad, Pakistan, on April 29, 2014, with a mandate for close cooperation between ombudsman institutions of the member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation itself was established 1969, in Rabat, Morocco. Until 2011, the organization was known as the Organization of the Islamic Conference and was later renamed the OIC.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is the second largest organization after the United Nations with a membership of 57 states spread over four continents. It endeavors to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony among various people of the world. The organization's headquarters is located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Kyrgyzstan became a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on December 1, 1992. However, the Ombudsman Institutution of Kyrgyzstan is only an observer of the Ombudsman Association of this organization (OIC).

For 2022, 60,146.6 thousand soms were provided in the budget for the Akyikatchy Institute. Out of the provided budget, 86% was planned for wages and contributions to the Social Fund, for business trips - 1.8%, for utilities and communications - 3.2%, for transport services - 1.9%, for the purchase of other goods and services - 1.6%, for current repairs - 3.1% (not used), as well as for other expenses.

In August 2022, the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, as part of the reform of the civil service system, doubled the salaries of the staff of the Office of the Ombudsman Institute, which required the allocation of additional funding from the republican budget — about 24 million soms.

However, as a result of cardinal reforms in the work of the administration of Akyikatchy, optimization of resources, it was possible to achieve significant savings in budget funds, which made it possible to limit ourselves to the approved budget without requesting additional funding.

Thus, according to the results of 2022, Akyikatchy (Ombudsman) of the Kyrgyz Republic A. Abdrakhmatova saved and returned about 4 million soms to the state budget.

Press service of the Ombudsman Institute of the Kyrgyz Republic

The Akyikatchy Institute (Ombudsman) of the Kyrgyz Republic considers it inadmissible to violate the status of a citizen of any person in the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic. B. Temirov a citizen of the Kyrgyz Republic could not be forcibly expelled from the country against his will. The Office of the Procurator-General shall take urgent measures to ensure the consistent and uniform application of the guarantees of the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic for all citizens without exception, since tomorrow at the whim of any law enforcement official the rights of half a million Kyrgyz citizens who simultaneously hold Russian citizenship will be at risk (Ministry of Social Development data, source: https://rg.ru/2022/10/05/kazhdyjvtoroj-poluchil-pasport-rf.html).

1.The Institute of the Ombudsman from the very beginning of the criminal prosecution of journalist B. Temirov notes that the criminal cases against him are unfounded, contrary to the principles of criminal proceedings provided for as national legislation, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), on the following reasons.
The investigative authorities have violated the requirements of article 27, paragraph 1(12) of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Kyrgyz Republic, according to which criminal proceedings may not be initiated and the case may be terminated because of the statute of limitations for criminal proceedings under art. 2. 2. 379 of the Criminal Code, since the alleged crime of B. Temirov in the form of "forgery of documents" was committed in 2008 and the statute of limitations under it expired in 2013.
In all criminal cases against B. Temirov, there were many procedural irregularities and shortcomings, which the Ombudsman Institution has repeatedly stated. While in some cases the law enforcers exceeded the legal authority, in others the principles of criminal prosecution were not fully observed. The Office of the Ombudsman has previously noted that the courts cannot compensate for investigative errors, procedural irregularities and shortcomings of the investigation during the trial.
As a result of such intentions, the whole sensible society of the country witnessed the violation of the rights of a citizen of the Kyrgyz Republic because of the verdict of the court that happened on 23-November.

2. The verdict of the Bishkek City Court of 23 November 2022, according to which Bolot Temirov was immediately expelled from the country, was issued in violation of the guarantees of the status of a citizen provided for in article 51 of the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic, article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, requirements of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
B. Temirov was punished as if he was not a citizen of the Kyrgyz Republic, although according to article 11 of the Law «On Citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic» he acquired citizenship by birth. The fact of his birth in Osh in 1979 is not disputed by anyone.
The issuance of a citizen’s passport of the Kyrgyz Republic to B. Temirov in 2008 is only a formal confirmation of the fact that he is a citizen of the Kyrgyz Republic. It should be noted that the revocation (by decision of the investigator) of a national passport issued in the name of Temirov Swamp cannot be considered to deprive him of Kyrgyz citizenship.
Under article 51, paragraph 2, of the Constitution, no citizen may be deprived of his or her citizenship. The provisions of the Constitution and international law guarantee the prohibition of denationalization against the will of the citizen.
The Bishkek City Court, in imposing an additional penalty of expulsion on B. Temirov, violated the requirements of article 349 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, according to which the court shall pronounce a guilty verdict without sentencing if the statute of limitations for the prosecution of a person for this offence has expired at the time of its issuance.
Even if we follow the logic of the judges of the Bishkek City Court and ignore the fact that B. Temirov holds Kyrgyz citizenship, having seen only Russian citizenship, the judges violated the requirement of article 70 of the Criminal Code, according to which expulsion from the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic is applied to a foreign national only after serving a sentence. As for B. Temirov, not only did he not serve his sentence, but he did not receive it at all.

The plenary of the High Court of the Kyrgyz Republic, in its decision «On judicial practice on sentencing» dated 26.02.2021, directly recommends to the courts, if necessary, after serving the sentence, to impose a measure of state coercion as «expulsion from the country», at the same time, the nature of the crime committed and the harm inflicted, as well as the personality of the convicted person, the social danger of the crime committed and the consequences in each case individually shall be taken into account. As we can see from the verdict of the Bishkek City Court from 23.09.2022. The court did not specify the required justification for the expulsion or an assessment of the public danger of finding B. Temirov’s identity in Kyrgyzstan.

3. The law enforcement officers exceeded their authority, abusing their position by arbitrarily interpreting the sentence of the court, immediately after its announcement, using brutal physical force in a forcible and hasty capture B. Temirov and forced him out of the country.
At the immediate expulsion of B. Temirov immediately after the announcement of the verdict of the court, the law enforcement officers exceeded their authority, as the court’s verdict does not provide for «immediate» expulsion, or «expulsion from the country from the courtroom».
In addition, it should be borne in mind that the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic does not provide for a procedure for the forced expulsion from the country of a citizen of the Kyrgyz Republic or a citizen of the Kyrgyz Republic who simultaneously has the citizenship of another State.

Even if law enforcement officers, following the logic of the judges of the Bishkek City Court, ignored the fact that B. Temirov had Kyrgyz citizenship, recognizing only the citizenship of the Russian Federation, by their actions they violated the requirements of the legislation on prior notification before the expulsion of a foreign citizen and expelled B. Temirov without valid documents for the right to cross the state border.
Paragraph 11 of the Instruction on the expulsion of foreign citizens and stateless persons after serving a sentence for a crime or misdemeanor committed outside the Kyrgyz Republic, approved by a decision of the Government of 26 March 2020, Provides for mandatory prior notification of the expulsion of a foreign national or stateless person, three days before expulsion.
In violation of the above-mentioned Instruction during the expulsion of B. Temirov, law enforcement officers failed to provide the expelled person with appropriate valid identity documents, as well as granting the right to cross the state border.
Thus, by violating the rights of B. Temirov, the law enforcement officers deprived him of the opportunity to collect the documents, bank cards, money, things and other essentials necessary to stay in another country, which has limited his ability to move freely, to be safe and not to be detained in another country.
In connection with the flagrant violations of the rights of B. Temirov, the Institute of the Ombudsman has formally appealed the Prosecutor-General of the Kyrgyz Republic with an act of reaction to bring to justice law enforcement officials who have violated the human rights guaranteed by the Constitution. 
Also, Akyikatchy A. Abdrakhmatova appealed to the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation with a request to assist in the realization of the rights of Temirov Bolot Mamatkasymovich to timely documentation, legal and other assistance necessary for life in the territory of the Russian Federation.

Akyikatchy A. Abdrakhmatova received several complaints about the increasing the amount of violence and “school racketeering” and the inaction of law enforcement officers in the Naryn region. In this connection, the regional office in the Naryn region of the Ombudsman of the Kyrgyz Republic, together with the League of Defenders of the Rights of the Child Public Foundation, monitored compliance with the guarantees of safety and rights of students in nine educational institutions in Naryn city. As part of the monitoring, a survey was conducted among 700 students of various age categories, and meetings were held with juvenile inspectors, social educators, parents and public organizations to discuss the issue of observing children's rights while ensuring public safety and law and order. The results of the monitoring with recommendations for improving the system of protecting children from violence and extortion in schools will be reflected in the report and presented to the public and decision makers.

The monitoring of the safety of schoolchildren in Naryn was carried out with the support of The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Kyrgyzstan.

On November 15, 2022, the VII meeting of the Eurasian Alliance of Ombudsmen was held in Moscow, where issues of human rights education as one of the areas of human rights activity of Human Rights Commissioners were discussed. The Eurasian Ombudsman Alliance is a platform for dialogue on ensuring, developing and promoting cooperation between ombudsmen of various states in the areas of human rights protection and legal education. Currently, the Eurasian Alliance of Ombudsmen includes National Human Rights Institutions (Ombudsmen) of 9 countries: Armenia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, the Russian Federation, Serbia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan. The Ombudsmen of Azerbaijan, Belarus, Turkmenistan and Turkey attended the VII session as observers.

On October 18, 2022, an expert meeting was held at the Akyikatchy Institute of the Kyrgyz Republic on the creation of conditions for the realization of rights by citizens of Afghanistan who have been living in the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic for more than 20 years. Several dozen families were forced to flee the war in the early 2000s and seek asylum in the Kyrgyz Republic. Despite their long stay on the territory of Kyrgyzstan, the issue of recognition them as refugees has not yet been resolved, and therefore they have:

- there are no relevant permits for staying in the country, - no right to work legally, - there are no conditions for the full enjoyment of rights and freedoms to ensure a decent life for themselves and their family members. During the meeting, the experts of the Ombudsman Institute presented the results of the research conducted to assess the needs and requirements, as well as respect for the rights of Afghan nationals - recognized by the UN system as "mandate refugees". The research covered a total of 129 people from 30 families. The results of the research of Akyikatchy Institute showed that the so-called "invisible" members of society lead a good life like most citizens of Kyrgyzstan, are fully integrated into the local community, their children are educated in schools and universities. However, an irregular situation puts them in a vulnerable position in the realization of their rights, for example when they need to seek assistance from law enforcement agencies, where the question of the legality of their stay immediately arises.

The Ombudsman A. Abdrakhmatova, appealed to all authorized representatives of State bodies do find any legal possibility for a final solution to the issue of documentation of foreign citizens forced to flee the war and seek a peaceful life in Kyrgyzstan. “The public service requires a change in approach of working with the population, it’s easy to say “no”, but the real duty of each of us to do everything possible within the law to be “yes” and help the person to realize his rights,” said Akyikatchy A. Abdrakhmatova.

Representatives of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, representatives of authorized state bodies, non-governmental organizations took part in the expert meeting on observance of the rights and freedoms of «mandate refugees», Specializing in legal support for "mandate refugees".

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