British Citizen Held in Kyrgyzstan and Denied Basic Rights, Claim Friends and Family of Vugar Khalilov

LONDON, April 16, 2010 - Press Release issued by Friends and Family of Vugar Khalilov:

Since the beginning of this week, a UK citizen has been held in Bishkek,
Kyrgyzstan without legal representation or access to British consular
assistance, in direct contravention of international and local laws. His
friends and family request immediate action by the British government to
ensure his basic human rights are observed and that he is allowed to defend
himself against baseless charges.

On the evening of Monday, 12 April 2010, Vugar Khalilov, a UK citizen
living legally in Kyrgyzstan was detained by members of the National Security
Service and taken to their headquarters in Bishkek. He was arrested in a
hotel shortly after having met the UK ambassador to Kazakhstan and
Kyrgyzstan, David Moran.

Since his detention, Vugar has been denied the right to see his lawyer.
Members of the National Security Service have claimed that he waived his
legal right to see a lawyer, although they were unable to produce a signed
statement to this effect, as required under Kyrgyz law. His lawyer has made
multiple applications to the National Security Service to see his client and
was accompanied by the UK honorary consul in Kyrgyzstan; this was denied on
each occasion.

On Wednesday, 15 April, Vugar was taken to a court and remanded in
custody for 60 days on charges of money laundering, charges that he flatly
denies. The honorary consul and military attaché from the UK Embassy to
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan were present at the hearing, but have still been
denied the right to meet Vugar to discuss his wellbeing and pass messages to
his family, as stipulated by international law.

At the hearing, it was revealed that Vugar has made a written application
to see the honorary British consul and have access to his lawyer. Vugar
confirmed this yesterday when he was allowed to meet his lawyer for the first
time - during court proceedings. His lawyer has attempted to obtain an
explanation about why he was told, falsely, that Vugar had waived his right
to talk to his lawyer. Since the hearing, Vugar has been again denied the
right to meet his lawyer and a formal application made by his lawyer was
illegally rejected - and torn up by a senior official in the lawyer's
presence. The lawyer has filed a formal complaint, but this will take 10
days, during which Vugar will be held incommunicado.

Vugar Khalilov worked for more than 20 years as a professional journalist
for media outlets like BBC and Radio Liberty, upholding the values of
objective and independent journalism, democracy and justice. He has at times
risked his own life to determine the truth of a story. Having moved on from a
successful career in journalism, Vugar was in Kyrgyzstan lawfully and running
his own public relations firm, Flexi Communications, which served a wide
range of clients in Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia. We believe that he and his
firm were targeted because of the political ties of some of its clients.

We appeal to the government of Kyrgyzstan to observe Vugar's rights under
the country's constitution and release him from custody immediately. We also
ask the UK government to make every effort to secure Vugar's release and
ensure that he is provided with basic legal assistance and that his basic
human rights are observed. We have genuine fears about his physical and
mental wellbeing.

    For more information, please contact:
    Azer Khalilov on +44-780-873-8586
    freevugar@gmail.com

For more information, please contact: Azer Khalilov on +44-780-873-8586, freevugar at gmail.com