BISHKEK -- A district court in Bishkek on July 1 sentenced Kyrgyz poet, composer, and political activist Askat Jetigen to three years in prison on a charge of calling for a seizure of power in a widely followed case rejected by Jetigen and rights observers.
Jetigen was acquitted on a charge of calling for mass unrest.
Prosecutors had sought a combined eight-year prison sentence for Jetigen, who began speaking out on social media in 2021 on cultural topics and political issues ranging from casino initiatives to a change of the national flag and the jailing of government critics.
Jetigen's lawyer, Samat Matsakov, alleged procedural violations and vowed to challenge the sentence.
The charges were brought after a video was posted in March in which Jetigen criticized President Sadyr Japarov's government and reforms enacted by the Culture Ministry, as well as journalist and activist arrests in the post-Soviet Central Asian republic.
Last week in court, Jetigen apologized over his use of profanity, saying it came during a "fit of rage."
But he insisted the accusations that he promoted insurrection and unrest were baseless.
Jetigen has alleged he was beaten and given electric shocks by investigators after his second detention in March.
Jetigen's relatives had expressed hope to an RFE/RL correspondent attending the trial that Jetigen would be acquitted or get off lightly with a fine, since, in the words of his aunt Boldu Toygonbaeva, "this was not a serious crime."
"We will continue to fight," Toygonbaeva said. "We think the truth will somehow win out."
The New York-based Human Rights Foundation has called the charges "trumped-up" and demanded Jetign's immediate and unconditional release, as well as an independent investigation into his torture allegations.
1/ The Kyrgyz prosecutor%27s office requested that the Bishkek court sentence activist Askat Jetigen to eight years in prison for “calling for the seizure of power and mass unrest.” Askat pleaded not guilty. https://t.co/VrrV7QoDxZ
— Human Rights Foundation (@HRF) June 28, 2024
Jetigen gained popularity as a musician in his late teens before leading a traditional Kyrgyz folk ensemble called Ordo Sahna, and studied under some of the country's most influential folk artists.