Akylbek Muratbai (Muratov), a leader of the Karakalpak diaspora in Kazakhstan, has been released after a year of unjust detention in Almaty on a false extradition request from Uzbekistan. His case is yet another example of the transnational repression employed by the Uzbek regime to silence dissent and suppress the Karakalpak people.
The struggle does not end here. The systematic persecution of ethnic Karakalpaks continues, with activists, journalists, and ordinary citizens facing arbitrary detention, forced disappearances, and state violence. The tragic events of July 2022 remain uninvestigated, and those responsible for the killing of peaceful demonstrators walk free. Independent international experts must be allowed to conduct a full and transparent investigation into these crimes. The unjust imprisonment of journalist and human rights defender Dauletmurat Tazhimuratov and other political prisoners must end.
Freedom for Eurasia stands with the Karakalpak people in their fight for fundamental rights, freedom of speech, the right to peaceful assembly, the right to use and preserve the Karakalpak language, and the right to protect their history, identity and culture. The international community must recognize that Uzbekistan’s democratic transformation is impossible without an honest and equal dialogue with the Karakalpak people.
