Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan’s democratic progress in recent years is undermined by discriminatory legislative proposals, including those related to “foreign agents” and “homosexual propaganda”; interference in the work of some human rights groups by security services; persistent impunity for ill-treatment and torture, and shortcomings in the country’s legal and judicial framework. Violence and discrimination against women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people remain serious problems. Freedom of expression and assembly suffered setbacks in 2014, and attacks on defendants and lawyers in courts continued. Although the government acknowledges that torture occurs in Kyrgyzstan, impunity remains the norm.