Eight Kyrgyz opposition activists have been sentenced to three days in jail for collecting signatures for a petition.
The leader of the Ata-Meken (Motherland) party's youth wing, Joomart Saparbaev, told RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service that Bishkek's Lenin district court found the activists guilty of organizing an illegal mass gathering and resisting police officers.
The activists were collecting signatures on December 19 for a petition that called on the government to stop persecuting the opposition, when they were detained by the police, brought to trial, found guilty, and sentenced the same day.
The leader of the Ata-Meken (Motherland) party's youth wing, Joomart Saparbaev, told RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service that Bishkek's Lenin district court found the activists guilty of organizing an illegal mass gathering and resisting police officers.
The activists were collecting signatures on December 19 for a petition that called on the government to stop persecuting the opposition, when they were detained by the police, brought to trial, found guilty, and sentenced the same day.