LGBT Activist Aziyat Agishev Released After Being Held in Enlistment Office 

The Tauan public foundation announced the release of LGBT activist Aziyat Agishev on social media. Earlier, the human rights foundation NeMolchi reported that he was forcibly taken in Almaty, while lawyer Azamat Sagal stated that the activist was being held illegally at the military enlistment office, Orda.kz reports.

Aziyat Agishev was released a day after his arbitrary arrest, forced delivery, and illegal detention at the military registration and enlistment office,  the Tauan Foundation reported.

This information was confirmed by the youth human rights initiative QUEER KZ.

According to the group, physical force was used against Agishev during his detention — he was dragged along the ground, tearing his shirt and damaging his laptop.

He has injuries on his body! They took his phone and prevented him from contacting his family! He was only able to report his arrest at two in the morning, QUEER KZ wrote.

The organization also stated that Agishev should be exempt from military service for medical reasons:

We believe that Aziyat Agishev was taken in by the military enlistment office for political reasons because he is an LGBT activist. Just the other day in Astana, he openly questioned government ministries about a potential law banning ‘LGBT propaganda.’ And upon his return to Almaty, he was taken almost immediately. This is no coincidence! We believe the authorities used the military enlistment office as leverage to silence his voice!

Original Author: Oksana Matvienko