Kyrgyzstan

In Kyrgyzstan, the district court decided to prosecute FTUKg deputy chair Kanatbek Osmonov on 10 June 2020, on unknown criminal charges, and to place him under house arrest for two months without the right to use telecommunications and internet, effectively suspending his trade union work. His house arrest was downgraded to “night house arrest” on 30 June 2020.

In 2020, the Federation of Trade Unions of Kyrgyzstan (FTUKg) has been fighting the government’s attempts to take control of its elected positions.

On 5 February 2020, the Council of the FTUKg finally succeeded in dismissing the FTUKg chair, Mirbek Asanakunov, who had been elected in 2017 with the heavy support and help of the government; the Council appointed Ryskul Babayeva as the new chair. In retaliation, the government launched a series of raids in the homes of FTUKg leaders, initiating criminal investigations on spurious charges. The FTUKg work was effectively paralysed, and their bank accounts were frozen. Its congress, to be held in December 2020, was cancelled due to an order by the deputy prime minister to suspend the impending elections. Eventually, the mandate of the FTUKg elected members expired. On 10 December 2020, a group of people led by a member of the Parliament took control of the building of the Federation.