BISHKEK -- Noted Kyrgyz civil rights activist Chyngyz Kaparov has been rushed to the hospital from a pretrial detention center in Bishkek with acute gallbladder issues.
Kaparov's lawyer, Bakytbek Avtandil, told RFE/RL on April 11 that his client was diagnosed with an inflammation of the gallbladder and that surgery will be performed on him in the coming days.
Kaparov is one of 26 rights defenders, journalists, activists, and politicians -- members of so-called Kempir-Abad Defense Committee -- who were arrested in late October last year after they protested against a Kyrgyz-Uzbek border demarcation deal.
Under the accord, Kyrgyzstan in November handed over the territory of the Kempir-Abad water reservoir, which covers 4,485 hectares, to Uzbekistan in exchange for over 19,000 hectares of land elsewhere.
Those arrested were charged with planning riots over the border agreement, which was more than three decades in the making.
In November 2022, the presidents of the two Central Asian nations, Sadyr Japarov of Kyrgyzstan and Shavkat Mirziyoev of Uzbekistan, signed the disputed deal into law after lawmakers in both countries approved it.
The Kempir-Abad reservoir, known in Uzbekistan as the Andijon reservoir, was built in 1983. It is located in the fertile Ferghana Valley, where borders of three former Soviet republics -- Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan -- meet, and represents a vital regional water source. Uzbekistan, whose population of 35 million is five times larger than that of Kyrgyzstan, uses most of the water from the area.
Many Kyrgyz civil activists, opposition politicians, and residents living close to the dam have been against the deal saying Uzbekistan should continue to be allowed to use the water, but the reservoir's land should remain within Kyrgyzstan.
President Japarov and his allies claim the deal benefits Kyrgyzstan and that Kyrgyz farmers will still have access to the water reservoir.
Several rallies held in recent months demanded the immediate release of the activists.