Freedom for Eurasia has documented credible and deeply alarming evidence of torture and ill-treatment carried out by the State Committee for National Security (GKNB) of Kyrgyzstan against individuals detained for expressing critical views online. These findings are based on multiple independent interviews conducted with former detainees in recent months.
According to consistent testimonies, individuals arrested for social media posts critical of the government were taken to the basement of the newly constructed GKNB headquarters in Bishkek (Chingiz Aitmatov Prospect 1). Former detainees describe being brought into a large, windowless room with grey floor carpeting, visibly stained with blood and other bodily fluids from prior abuse. The walls were covered in soft, padded insulation, reportedly installed to suppress sound and prevent screams from being heard outside.
Survivors reported the presence of torture equipment in the room, including:
- electric shock devices
- plastic batons
- plastic bags used for suffocation
- large containers of water used for partial drowning
Detainees consistently stated that they were beaten, subjected to electric shocks, suffocated and drowned. Many were then forced—while still injured and under severe psychological pressure—to record video “apologies” for their alleged wrongdoing, typically for posting criticism of state authorities, law enforcement bodies, or government policies or renounce their affiliation with any groups that regime deems an enemy.
These testimonies strongly indicate the existence of a systematic pattern of torture and coercion used by the GKNB to intimidate, silence, and punish critical voices in Kyrgyzstan. The scale and consistency of these accounts raise serious questions about whether such practices are sanctioned or tolerated at senior levels.
This situation is further aggravated by the shutdown of Kyrgyzstan’s National Center for the Prevention of Torture, which has been deprived of its independence and operational capacity. With the national torture-prevention mechanism no longer able to carry out unannounced monitoring of detention facilities, the risk of abuse has dramatically increased, and the possibility for victims to seek protection or redress has been severely undermined.
Freedom for Eurasia calls on democratic states, international human rights bodies, and Kyrgyzstan’s international partners to urgently raise this issue with the Kyrgyz authorities at the highest levels. We urge them to demand:
- An immediate end to torture and ill-treatment of detainees;
- Independent investigations into all allegations of abuse, including those involving the GKNB;
- Restoration of an independent national torture-prevention mechanism in line with the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT);
- Protection of journalists, activists, and ordinary citizens exercising their right to free expression;
- Accountability for all officials involved in acts of torture or in covering up such acts.
Kyrgyzstan has long been viewed as the most open society in Central Asia. The practices described to us—if allowed to continue—will mark an irreversible departure from the country’s human rights commitments and democratic aspirations.
Freedom for Eurasia stands in solidarity with the survivors who came forward despite great risk, and we will continue to monitor and report on these violations until meaningful action is taken.