Asiya Sasykbaeva is a politician and human rights defender with extensive experience in both the public and civil sectors. She is regarded as one of the founders of civil society in Kyrgyzstan and has been an active participant in public life, focusing on the protection of human rights and citizens’ freedoms. Her outspoken position in defense of the Kempir-Abad reservoir is considered one of the main reasons for her detention. She was charged in connection with protests against the government’s decision regarding the demarcation of the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border. While she was acquitted by the Pervomaisky District Court of Bishkek in June 2024, the case remains under review in the court of second instance.

Asiya Sasykbaeva, who was 71 at the time she was imprisoned with the others. A longtime activist and former lawmaker, Sasykbaeva spent time in jail making salads for the other prisoners and teaching them Russian. She even helped a 24-year-old woman who had been wrongly sentenced walk free from jail. “I thought, how can I complain about my health when [Sasykbaeva] is holding up so well?” Karasartova said. Karasartova added that her eight-month stint has given her strength to face whatever punishment might come her way whenever the secretive coup-plot trial reaches its conclusion. “We used to have concerns about what it would be like to be arrested,” Karasartova said. “Now, I wouldn’t say we are brave, but we have stopped being afraid of prison,” the activist said, vowing not to “shut [her] mouth.”