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Someone close is missing or imprisoned in Central Asia

The guides below are drafts: a lawyer has not reviewed them yet. This is not legal advice.

Draft What human rights defenders advise

Someone close is missing or imprisoned in Central Asia
  • Record everything: date and place of arrest, who made it, where the person was taken, which charges. Demand a lawyer chosen by the family, not only an appointed one.
  • In Turkmenistan dozens of prisoners have been unaccounted for for years: report the case to the Prove They Are Alive! campaign, which tracks the disappeared.
  • Publicity and international mechanisms often help: the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has ruled on cases from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. But sometimes the prisoner is punished after publicity, so decide together with the lawyer and the family.
  • People die in custody after being denied treatment (Pamiri activists in Tajikistan, a blogger in Karakalpakstan). Report health problems to rights groups immediately.

current as of 25 September 2026. More: HRW: World Report 2026, Turkmenistan; HRW: World Report 2026, Uzbekistan; HRW: World Report 2026, Kazakhstan

Whom to contact

5 organisations
Where you are now

Shows those who help where you are now. The choice works only on your screen.

Bir Duino Kyrgyzstan Human Rights Movement

Free legal aid, support for victims of torture and ill-treatment, monitoring of political cases. Offices in Bishkek and Osh.

Kyrgyzstan's 2024 'foreign representatives' law puts pressure on foreign-funded NGOs. Ask which programmes are currently running.

Other ways to reach them: Bishkek: +996 501 156-390 · Osh: +996 555 161-300 · birduinokyrgyzstan@gmail.com (a call stays in the phone log and with the operator)

Kyrgyzstan contact matched to the organisation's site 26 September 2026
Get in touch birduino.kg

Uzbek Forum for Human Rights

Documents persecution in Uzbekistan (bloggers, journalists, prisoners, forced labour) and campaigns for release. Does not provide legal aid.

Other ways to reach them: info@uzbekforum.org

abroad contact matched to the organisation's site 26 September 2026
Get in touch uzbekforum.org

Prove They Are Alive! campaign

Seeks information on people who disappeared in Turkmenistan's prisons, tracking 162 confirmed cases. Accepts information from relatives and acquaintances.

Other ways to reach them: website

abroad contact matched to the organisation's site 26 September 2026
Get in touch mailto:provetheyarealive@gmail.com

Front Line Defenders

Emergency support for human rights defenders at risk: protection grants, secure contact, publicity and advocacy after detention.

For people targeted for peaceful human rights work, including activists and journalists.

Other ways to reach them: protection grants

worldwide contact matched to the organisation's site 26 September 2026
Get in touch frontlinedefenders.org

What next

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