A court in Almaty, Kazakhstan, has extended the detention of outspoken Karakalpak activist Aqylbek Muratbai to February 15, 2025 – a full year. Muratbai (also known as Muratov) was detained on February 15, 2024 in Almaty, initially for 40 days while Kazakh authorities considered an extradition request from Uzbekistan. While Muratbai holds an Uzbek passport, … Read more
Karakalpak activist Aqylbek Muratbai has reportedly been granted asylum seeker status in Kazakhstan, where he is presently in detention at the request of authorities in neighboring Uzbekistan. Earlier reports, citing family and lawyers, claim that Muratbai has been charged in Uzbekistan with public calls for mass disorder and violence (Article 244 part 2 of the … Read more
An Almaty court has ordered Aqylbek Muratbai, an outspoken Karakalpak activist, to be held in custody for 40 days while Astana decides whether to fulfill an extradition request made by the government of Uzbekistan. Muratbai, who holds an Uzbek passport but has lived in Kazakhstan for more than a decade, was detained on February 15 … Read more
Neitbay Urazbayev, a leader among the Karakalpak diaspora in Kazakhstan, died in an Almaty hospital this week at the age of 54 after suffering a heart attack, according to reports from fellow activists. His death marks a sudden end to a particularly difficult period of pressure that saw him tried and convicted in absentia by … Read more
Neitbay Urazbayev, a Karakalpak activist based in Kazakhstan, appears to have had his Kazakhstani citizenship revoked. Neither Kazakhstan nor Uzbekistan recognizes dual citizenship. In order to obtain Kazakh citizenship, an individual has to formally renounce their previous citizenship. Uzbek law, meanwhile, states that the acquisition of foreign citizenship triggers a loss of Uzbek citizenship, but … Read more
Advertisement A fourth Karakalpak has been released from detention in Kazakhstan, a year after her arrest ostensibly at the request of Uzbek authorities. The releases mark a stalemate of sorts. Kazakhstan’s government was under pressure to not deport Karakalpak activists to Uzbekistan, where they would likely face lengthy prison sentences. Ziuar Mirmanbetova was released on … Read more
Advertisement Two Karakalpak activists detained in Kazakhstan last September at the request of Uzbek authorities have been denied asylum. Their lawyers are appealing the decision, but Kazakhstan does not often grant asylum. In recent years, high-profile cases of asylum seekers in Kazakhstan have ended in the seeker searching elsewhere. Koshkarbai Toremuratov and Zhangeldi Dzhaksymbetov were … Read more
Crossroads Asia | Society | Central Asia When civilians were put on trial in relation to the Karakalpakstan unrest, their names were known, their faces splattered across the media. We only have initials for the three law enforcement officers tried. Advertisement On August 5, the Uzbek Supreme Court’s Telegram channel announced that three police officers — employees of the … Read more
Crossroads Asia | Politics | Central Asia Tazhimuratov’s 16-year sentence was upheld while terms of others were either reduced or shifted to house arrest. Advertisement Uzbekistan’s Supreme Court has issued its rulings in the appeals of 16 people sentenced in January to various prison terms for their involvement in protests in Karakalpakstan last summer, as well as ruling on … Read more
Advertisement “Karakalpakstan is not Uzbekistan,” Aman Sagidullayev, the leader of the Alga Karakalpakstan movement stressed to The Diplomat. Sagidullayev fled his homeland in 2012 for Kyrgyzstan and eventually even farther abroad. His movement’s demand for a referendum on independence in Karakalpakstan was viewed by Tashkent as nothing short of rank separatism. “We Karakalpaks, apart from … Read more