According to Karakalpak sources, on September 13, 2023, two Karakalpak activists, the leader of the Karakalpak diaspora in Almaty, Koshkarbay Toremuratov, and the Karakalpak oppositionist, Zhangeldy Zhaksymbetov, were released from the pre-trial detention center in Almaty.
Karakalpak activist Raisa Khudaibergenova was released from Almaty pre-trial detention on September 15, 2023.
They were detained in Kazakhstan a year ago after Uzbekistan put them on the wanted list on trumped-up charges of a political nature. In early August, it became known that Kazakhstan refused to grant them refugee status. However, they were released after the expiration of the period of detention established by the court.
Two more women activists from Karakalpakstan – Ziuar Mirmanbetova and Tleubike Yuldasheva, who were also detained, continue to remain in a pre-trial detention center in Kazakhstan. The Uzbek authorities also fabricated criminal charges of a political nature against them.
