BISHKEK -- The Birinchi Mai district court in Bishkek has resumed the high-profile trial of 27 politicians, journalists, and activists -- without 11 of the defendants present -- after they protested against a Kyrgyz-Uzbek border demarcation deal.
The 11 defendants who did not attend the proceedings on October 4 are being held in detention centers, while those who did attend are currently under house arrest.
The lawyers for the 11 defendants challenged the judge's decision to not allow their presence, saying it contradicted their legal rights. They demanded the judge's replacement, but the motion was denied.
The court has yet to give an official justification for the move.
The 27 members of the so-called Kempir-Abad Defense Committee, who went on trial behind closed doors on June 22, were arrested in late October last year after they protested against the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border demarcation deal that saw Kyrgyzstan in November hand 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.
The majority of them were later transferred to house arrest.
Those arrested were charged with planning riots over the agreement, which was more than three decades in the making. Some of the arrested individuals were later charged with plotting a power seizure by force.
Several of them protested against their arrest and launched hunger strikes while in pretrial detention.
If convicted, the defendants face more than 10 years in prison.
There have been several rallies in Bishkek demanding their release.
Human rights organizations have also demanded the Kyrgyz government release the jailed men and women and drop all charges against them, saying they were imprisoned for expressing their thoughts and opinions.
In November 2022, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and his Uzbek counterpart, Shavkat Mirziyoev, 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 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 that the reservoir's land should remain within Kyrgyzstan.
Japarov and his allies claim the deal benefits Kyrgyzstan and that Kyrgyz farmers will still have access to the water reservoir.