A local resident who fought in PMC “Wagner” was detained in Kyrgyzstan

The Committee of National Security of Kyrgyzstan detained a local resident who fought in Ukraine as part of PMC “Wagner”. He was recruited in a Russian colony, where he served his sentence. In July, he returned to his family and was detained. For participating in hostilities on the side of a foreign state, he can face up to 10 years in prison.

As the detainee’s wife told the Kyrgyz service of Radio Liberty, her husband left for Russia to work in early 2022. There he was arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking. The court sentenced him to 10 years in prison. At the end of 2022, he agreed to sign a contract with PMC “Wagner” and go to fight in Ukraine. On July 8, he returned to Kyrgyzstan and was detained three weeks later.

This is the second case of the detention of a Kyrgyz citizen for participating in hostilities in Ukraine. In May, a court in Bishkek sentenced a Kyrgyz man who fought on the side of Donbas separatists to 10 years in prison.

The laws of Kyrgyzstan prohibit its citizens from serving in the army and power structures of other states and from participating in hostilities on their side. This is punishable by up to 10 years in prison with confiscation of property. The Embassy of Kyrgyzstan has repeatedly warned its citizens against participating in the war in Ukraine on any side.

The embassy of Uzbekistan, where similar laws apply, issued the same appeals. In addition, the spiritual authority of the Muslims of Uzbekistan issued a fatwa prohibiting Uzbek Muslims from participating in hostilities abroad. The fatwa states that a Muslim is allowed to take up arms only to protect his family. “Muslims are not allowed to unite with non-believers and fight against another community of non-believers,” the Uzbek spiritual authorities refer to the book “As-Siyarul-Kabir” by the Islamic theologian Imam Muhammad.

• In the fall of 2022, the State Duma adopted a law simplifying the acquisition of citizenship for foreigners who signed a one-year contract with the Russian army. Recently, there have been reports that foreigners who have received a Russian passport are forcibly registered in the military. Thus, in St. Petersburg during police raids on August 15-16, more than 100 people – mainly migrants from Central Asian countries who also received Russian passports – were detained and taken to military enlistment offices. Similar raids took place in Chuvashia.