The judge of the Pervomaisky District Court, Marat Sydykov, overseeing the Kemper-Abad case, has scheduled an additional day for hearings, a decision met with opposition from defense lawyers and their clients. Lawyer Erkin Sadanbekov reported that despite objections raised by many lawyers due to conflicting schedules, the judge proceeded with the hearing. During the recent session, over half of the defense lawyers were absent, leading to a request for the hearing to be postponed to the following week. However, the judge chose to continue with the proceedings, causing dissatisfaction among the detained defendants as their rights were perceived to be violated.
Sadanbekov highlighted that detainees in pre-trial detention facilities expressed their disagreement with the Tuesday court schedule, citing mandatory medical appointments on that day. He also pointed out the scheduling conflicts faced by detainees who have court appearances related to other cases on different days of the week. The formation of a support committee for the Kemper-Abad reservoir on October 22, 2022, involving activists, politicians, and parliamentarians, preceded a series of mass arrests starting from October 23. Authorities detained 27 individuals on charges of inciting mass unrest, with nine individuals remaining in custody.
Several international human rights organizations, including the International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), the Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC), the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (HFHR), and "Freedom Now," have repeatedly called for the release of detained politicians and activists in Kyrgyzstan.
