SI welcomes response to our call for medical attention for Almazbek Atambayev

25 May 2022

SI welcomes response to our call for medical attention for Almazbek Atambayev

The Socialist International welcomes the response of the government of Kyrgyzstan to our call by finally facilitating medical care for former President Atambayev, former leader of SI member the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan, SDPK, who has served over one thousand days in prison and suffered grave ill health, as well as having been subjected to mistreatment and abuse whilst incarcerated.

The Secretary General of the Socialist International, Luis Ayala, visited President Atambayev in his prison cell in April and witnessed his startling decline in health. The Secretary General has, since then, been calling on the Kyrgyz authorities for urgent medical attention for the former president, as is his fundamental human right.

The SI welcomes the news that President Almazbek Atambayev has now been moved to the National Cardiology Center for medical examination and treatment, and insists that he stay hospitalised for thorough and ongoing treatment.

The Socialist International reiterates that the detention, trial and sentencing of President Almazbek Atambayev violates the Kyrgyz Code of Criminal Procedure and breaches international judicial norms and the legal and human rights of the defendant.

The Socialist International extends its best wishes to the former president, and his family, for a full recovery back to health.