Kyrgyz Police Detain Electricity Rate Hike Protest Organizers

By RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service

September 16, 2014

Police in Kyrgyzstan have thwarted plans for a protest over electricity prices by detaining three organizers.

Activists had organized a demonstration in the east-central city of Naryn on September 16 to protest planned rate hikes by the local administration.

One of the organizers, Erkin Asanaliev, told RFE/RL police had detained him and two colleagues before the protests, preventing it from taking place.

Asanaliev said local authorities had given official permission fo the gathering, but police told RFE/RL its organizers were detained because they had not received offical permission.