Liability for acts related to extremist materials under the legislation of the KR

Liability for acts related to extremist materials under the legislation of the KR

The Law of the Kyrgyz Republic “On Freedom of Religion and Religious Organisations in the Kyrgyz Republic” prohibits the import, production, storage, transportation and dissemination of religious literature, other printed, audio and video materials that call for changes in the constitutional order, religious intolerance and moral foundations of society (Article 22(2)).
Import, production, purchase, transportation, shipment, storage and dissemination of printed publications, film, photo, audio and video products and other materials containing the ideas of religious extremism, separatism and fundamentalism, shall entail liability in accordance with the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic (Article 22(8)).
The current legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic, including the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic does not provide for the concept of “religious extremism”, which has become widespread in the scientific literature.
(Note, see Extremism as a threat to Russia’s national security. Bibliography / written by N. E. Kozeltseva, chief editor L.N. Patrina. Tambov, 2015. Available at: http://www. tambovlib.ru/editions/bibliograf/date/jekstrimizm.pdf)
It should be taken into account that any religious teaching claims to be exceptional, true, and therefore is conflictogenic in itself, potentially being “extremist”. According to N.A. Pridvorov, E.V. Tikhonova, the terms “religious extremism” and “spiritual security” are legally incorrect.
(Note see Tikhonova E., Pridvorov N. Institute for Freedom of Conscience and Freedom of Religion in the Law of Modern Russia. M., 2007. Available at: file:///C:/Users/User/AppData/Local/Temp/ Pridvorov_Nikolaj_-_Institut_svobody_sovesti_i_svo.html).
Accordingly, the concept of religious extremism can be interpreted fairly broadly, speculatively and not in line with the spirit of anti-extremist legislation, and decisions taken by the courts may not fully take into account the objectively existing difficulties in the analysis of certain materials, works and publications on religious teachings for the presence of elements of extremist activity in them.
Certainly, the desire of some extremist movements to find justification for their actions in religion cannot be justified, for it conceals a double danger: on the one hand, it contributes to inciting intolerance, religious fanaticism and fundamentalism, and on the other hand, it leads to the isolation of entire religious communities because of individuals who abuse the universal values of religion.
(Note, see So A.A. Freedom of religion and religious extremism // Powers, 2015. Vol. 23. No. 6. p. 99-102. Available at: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/v/ svoboda-veroispovedaniya-i-religioznyy-ekstremizm).
The previously effective Law of the KR dated August 17, 2005 No. 150 “On combating extremist activity” (Article 13) provided that liability should take place for “storage for the purpose of further dissemination” of extremist materials. The Criminal Code of the KR (CC KR), which came into force on January 1, 2019, established criminal liability for “production, dissemination, transportation or shipment of extremist materials or their purchase or storage for the purpose of dissemination, use of symbols and attributes of extremist organisations, as well as via the internet” (Article 315), in contrast to the previously effective CC KR (as amended in 1997), which provided for punishment for the “storage” of extremist materials, regardless of the purpose of dissemination (Article 299-2).
At the same time, the previously effective Law of the KR “On Combating Extremist Activity” (as amended in 2005) in Article 13 indicated that persons guilty of illegal production, dissemination, transportation and storage for the purpose of further dissemination of these materials shall be subject to administrative or criminal liability. Due to the enactment of the new Codes, from January 1, 2019, only criminal liability for committing a crime was envisaged, liability under the Code of Misdemeanours and the Code of Violations was not envisaged, while administrative liability for committing an administrative offence as such was excluded from the legal system of Kyrgyz Republic.
A new Law of the KR dated February 24, 2023 No. 40 “On combating extremist activity” was adopted, which does not contain such a reference provision on liability. However, there is a specific provision (Article 4(1)), where, according to the meaning of the above new Law, extremist activity implies 10 elements of acts prohibited by law, that is, acts stipulated only by the provisions of criminal law. Thus, liability for the production and dissemination of extremist materials is stipulated in Article 332 of the new Criminal Code of the KR (as amended in 2021).

1.1. List of acts that constitute extremist activities

The Law of the KR “On combating extremist activity” (as amended in 2023) uses the term “extremist activity” and lists the acts that are included in it (see below the Comparative table for the definition of extremist activity under the previous and current Law of the KR “On combating extremist activity”.

Law of the KR “On combating extremist activity” of August 17, 2005 No. 150 (previously in force) (Article 1)

Law of the KR “On combating extremist activity” of February 24, 2023 No. 40 (currently in force) (Article 4 (1))

extremist activity (extremism):

1) the activities of public associations or religious organisations or other enterprises, organisations and institutions, as well as mass media, regardless of their form of ownership, or individuals on planning, organising, preparing and committing acts aimed at:

violent change of the foundations of the constitutional order and violating the integrity of the Kyrgyz Republic;

undermining the security of the Kyrgyz Republic;

seizure or appropriation of power;

establishment of illegal armed formations;

carrying out terrorist activities;

incitement of racial, ethnic or religious hatred, as well as social hatred associated with violence or calls for violence;

humiliation of national dignity;

engaging in mass riots, hooligan actions and acts of vandalism based on ideological, political, racial, national or religious hatred or enmity, as well as on the grounds of hatred or enmity against a social group;

propagating the exclusivity, superiority or inferiority of citizens on the grounds of their attitude to religion, social, racial, national, religious or linguistic affiliation;

2) propaganda and public display of Nazi attributes or symbols or attributes or symbols that are confusingly similar to Nazi attributes or symbols;

2-1) propaganda of attributes or symbols of an extremist organisation;

3) public calls for the implementation of the specified activity or the commission of the said actions;

4) financing of the said activity or other assistance in its implementation or commission of the said actions, including by providing financial means, real estate, educational, printing and logistical facilities, telephone, facsimile and other types of communication, information services, other material and technical means for the implementation of the said activity;

extremist activity:

a) actions on planning, organising, preparing and committing acts aimed at:

- violent seizure of power;

- public calls for a violent seizure of power;

- separatist activity;

- armed rebellion;

- incitement of racial, ethnic, national, religious or inter-regional hatred (enmity);

- establishment of an extremist organisation and (or) participation in its activities;

- financing of an extremist organisation or extremist activity;

- production, dissemination of extremist materials;

- use of attributes and symbols of an extremist organisation;

b) commission of other acts for extremist motives, involving violence or leading to violent actions recognised as such by the criminal legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic.

It is clear from the content of the previously effective article that the Law contains only a list of 13 acts that constitute various manifestations of extremist activity (extremism). At the same time, the legislator did not define the concept of “extremism”, which complicated law enforcement practice. The current Law of the KR on combating extremist activity (as amended in 2023) resolves this problem and excludes the term “extremism”. Thus, extremist activity within the meaning of the new Law implies 10 elements of acts prohibited by law, that is, acts provided only by the provisions of criminal law.

The CC KR does not contain a definition of the concept of “extremist crimes”, but as shown below, the legislator, in the wording of extremist activity in the new Law of the KR “On Combating extremist activity” (as amended in 2023), took as the basis for classifying this category of crimes the features already contained in the offences provided for by the current CC KR.

Depending on the established presence of elements, stipulated in Article 4(1) of the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic “On combating extremist activity” (as amended in 2023), according to which the following articles of the CC KR refer to extremist crimes:

1) extremist activity:

  1. a) actions on planning, organising, preparing and committing acts aimed at:

- violent seizure of power (Article 326. Forcible seizure of power);

- public calls for a forcible seizure of power (Article 327. Public calls for a forcible seizure of power);

- separatist activity (Article 328. Separatist activity);

- armed rebellion (Article 329. Armed rebellion);

- incitement of racial, ethnic, national, religious or inter-regional hatred (enmity) (Article 330. Incitement of racial, ethnic, national, religious inter-regional hatred (enmity);

- establishment of an extremist organisation and (or) participation in its activities (Article 331. Establishment and financing of an extremist organisation);

- financing of an extremist organisation or extremist activity (same Article 331. Establishment and financing of an extremist organisation);

- production, dissemination of extremist materials (Article 332. Production, dissemination of extremist materials);

- use of attributes and symbols of an extremist organisation (covered by Article 332. Production, dissemination of extremist materials);

  1. b) commission of other acts for extremist motives, involving violence or leading to violent actions recognised as such by the criminal legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic.

According to Article 74 of the CC KR, the commission of a crime on the ground of racial, ethnic, national, religious or inter-regional hatred (enmity) constitutes an aggravating circumstance. Accordingly, other acts for extremist motives, involving violence or leading to violent actions (subparagraph “b”, paragraph 1, Article 4), include those acts that contain such a qualifying feature. For example, “Murder” (subparagraph 11, paragraph 2, Article 122 of the CC KR), “Infliction of serious harm to health” (subparagraph 6, paragraph 2, Article 130 of the CC KR), “Torment” (subparagraph 3, paragraph 3, Article 138 of the CC KR).

According to the Review of Judicial Practice on the Consideration of Criminal Cases on Terrorism and Extremism under the previously effective Criminal Code as amended in 1997 and the Law of the KR “On Combating Extremist Activity” as amended in 2005, 244 criminal cases on extremism and terrorism against 254 persons were studied in the Supreme Court of the Kyrgyz Republic for the purpose of generalisation of judicial practice. A total of 242 cases involving 252 persons (46 of them women) were considered with convictions. Of these, 239 persons were sentenced to imprisonment (176 on probation, 6 persons with suspended sentences) and 13 persons were fined. No criminal cases were considered with a judgement of acquittal. One case involving one person was considered with a decision to discontinue criminal proceedings.

Of the total number of convicted persons:

- 1 person was convicted under Article 299(1) of the CC KR as amended in 1997 - actions aimed at inciting national (interethnic), racial, religious or inter-regional hatred, humiliation of national dignity, as well as propagating the exclusivity, superiority or inferiority of citizens on the ground of their attitude to religion, national (ethnic) or racial origin, if these acts are committed publicly or with the use of the mass media or the internet;

- 186 persons were convicted under Article 299-2(1) of the CC KR as amended in 1997 - purchase, production, storage, dissemination, transportation and shipment of extremist materials, as well as deliberate use, including the demonstration of symbols or attributes of extremist or terrorist organisations;

- 27 persons were convicted under subparagraph 5 of paragraph 2 of Article 299-2 of the CC KR as amended in 1997 - purchase, production, storage, dissemination, transportation and shipment of extremist materials, as well as deliberate use, including the demonstration of symbols or attributes of extremist or terrorist organisations by a person previously convicted of extremist or terrorist offences (extremist activity).

In total, 213 persons were convicted for “purchase, production, storage, dissemination, transportation and shipment of extremist materials, as well as deliberate use, including the demonstration of symbols or attributes of extremist or terrorist organisations”, representing 84.5% of the total number of convictions.

(Note See Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Kyrgyz Republic No. 8 dated June 15, 2016 // Bulletin of the Supreme Court of the Kyrgyz Republic No. 2(63) 2016. Available at: http://jogorku.sot.kg/sites/default/files/images/byulleten_263_2016.pdf). 

The most challenging for qualifying this category of crimes is to establish the presence of elements of extremist activity in the materials that are the subject of a crime, as this element is evaluative, it is therefore necessary to define the concept of the term “extremist material”.

The CC KR itself, as amended in 2021 does not contain a definition of the term “extremist materials” and it is used only in its Article 332 “Production, dissemination of extremist materials”. Therefore, to determine the meaning of this term, we should refer to the Law of the KR “On combating extremist activity” (as amended in 2023), where its Article 4(3) defines the concept of “extremist materials”, based on which extremist materials are information materials:

- intended for dissemination on any media, calling, substantiating or justifying the need to carry out extremist activities;

- recognised as such by the court, i.e. extremist.

1.2. Precautionary, preventive measures on the inadmissibility of the dissemination of extremist materials

According to the Law of the KR “On combating extremist activity” (as amended in 2023), information materials included in the list of extremist materials must not be disseminated on the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic. These information materials are subject to seizure, destruction or restriction of access thereto on the internet.

In addition, the new Law of the KR “On combating extremist activity” establishes preventive measures on the inadmissibility of the dissemination of extremist materials through the mass media (Article 14). Thus, in the event of dissemination of extremist materials by the mass media or public approval of the actions of organisations recognised by the court as extremist, media officials shall be subject to a pre-investigation check in accordance with the procedure established by the criminal procedure legislation.

Based on the results of a decision taken in respect of media officials within the framework of the pre-investigation check, the authorised state body on combating extremist activity shall issue a written warning, specifying the violations, to the head and (or) founder of the media outlet in question. A warning shall be deemed declared from the date of its receipt by an authorised person of the media outlet. The violations specified in the warning shall be subject to immediate elimination from the date of receipt of the warning.

Thus, according to paragraphs 6 and 7 of Article 6 of the Law of the KR “On combating extremist activity” (as amended in 2023), the authorised state body that develops and implements a unified state policy on combating extremist activity is the state internal affairs body, while authorised state bodies on combating extremist activity are state internal affairs and national security agencies.

In the case where it is impossible to take immediate measures to eliminate the violations, the warning shall establish an additional deadline for the elimination of these violations, which shall not exceed ten days from the date of receipt of the warning. A copy of the warning shall be sent to the authorised state body in the field of information policy for information, analysis and consolidation of information.

The law also establishes that a warning issued by the authorised state body on combating extremist activity may be appealed in court.

If no measures are taken within the established time limit to eliminate the violations committed, or if new facts of the dissemination of extremist materials (or facts indicating the presence of elements of extremist activity in the activities of a media outlet) are repeatedly revealed within a year, the issue of terminating the activities of the respective media outlet is subject to consideration by the court.

In this case, the prosecution authorities shall submit a statement of claim to the court on the basis of materials, the conclusions of the relevant expert reviews, the motion of the authorised state body on combating extremist activity that issued the warning.

In order to prevent the further dissemination of extremist materials, the court, on the basis of a statement of claim submitted by the prosecution authorities, makes a decision to suspend their publication and sale.

The decision of the court is the basis for the seizure of mass media products containing extremist materials for subsequent destruction on all media and information resources.

It should also be noted that, according to Article 6 of the Law of the KR “On Television and Radio Broadcasting”, it is not allowed to use television and radio broadcasting organisations to disseminate information prohibited by Article 23 of the Law of the KR “On Mass Media”. The head of the television and radio broadcasting organisation shall be responsible for the content of programmes and broadcasts. Each programme or broadcast must contain information about the author or authors, the name and address of the programme producer. Failure of the television and radio broadcasting organisation to comply with the provisions of this Law shall entail the suspension or revocation (cancellation) of their licenses.

The main evidence of posting information of an extremist nature for a justified appeal to the court and other procedural actions to recognise publications, images, information posted on the internet as extremist materials is their securing by a protocol of inspection of information posted on the internet.

Inspection and examination of written or material evidence at the place of their storage or location in case of impossibility or difficulty of delivering it to the court shall be carried out by the court on the basis of Article 67 of the Civil Procedure Code of the KR. At the request of the persons concerned, a notary shall provide evidence required in the event of a case arising in a court or administrative body, if there are reasons to believe that the presentation of evidence will subsequently become impossible or difficult in accordance with Articles 108, 109 of the Law of the KR dated March 9, 2023 No. 54 “On notaries”. The protocol of inspection of information posted on the internet shall notarise the fact that disseminated information is found on the internet for the purpose of securing evidence.

The novelty of the Law of the KR “On combating extremist activity” (as amended in 2023) is also preventive measures against individuals, legal entities and other organisations (Articles 16,17).

Thus, in the event of dissemination by legal entities or other organisations of extremist materials or public approval of the actions of organisations recognised by the court as extremist, the legal entity or other organisation shall be subject to a pre-investigation check in accordance with the procedure established by the criminal procedural legislation.

Based on the results of a decision taken in respect of officials of a legal entity or other organisation within the framework of a pre-investigation check, the authorised state body on combating extremist activity shall issues a warning about the inadmissibility of such actions.

If, within the established period, a legal entity or other organisation has not taken measures to eliminate the committed violations specified in the warning, the authorised state body on combating extremist activity shall send materials to the prosecution authorities to consider submitting a statement of claim to the court to terminate their activities.

A copy of the court decision on the forced liquidation of a legal entity shall be sent to the relevant department of the authorised state body in charge of registering legal entities at the place of registration to enter information on liquidation in the unified state register of legal entities, branches (representative offices).

If a religious organisation or a mission (representative office) of a foreign religious organisation is registered with the authorised state body in charge of religious affairs, a copy of the court decision on forced liquidation shall be sent to the authorised state body in charge of religious affairs with a view to removal from the unified register of religious organisations.

In case of storage by an individual of extremist materials or public approval of the actions of organisations recognised by a court as extremist, a pre-investigation check shall be carried out in accordance with the procedure established by the criminal procedural legislation.

In case of refusal to initiate criminal proceedings against an individual, the authorised state body on combating extremist activity shall issues a written warning to the individual and conduct preventive talks about the inadmissibility of such actions.

The warning of the authorised state body on combating extremist activity may be appealed in court.

 

2. Specifics of the procedure for recognising materials as extremist under the legislation o the KR

2.1. The procedure for recognising materials, a legal entity or other organisation as “extremist”

Recognition of information materials as extremist is carried out by the court, as specified in Article 15 of the currently effective Law of the KR “On combating extremist activity” (as amended in 2023), with the specifics of proceedings in certain categories of cases at the place of their discovery, dissemination or location of the organisation that produced such materials, based on the application of the prosecutor, who submitted a request to recognise the materials as extremist (paragraph 1 of article 261-1 of the Civil Procedure Code of the KR).

In order to implement these specifics of the proceedings, the legislator adopted the Law of the KR dated July 25, 2017 No. 141 “On Amendments to the Civil Procedure Code of the Kyrgyz Republic”, according to which subsection 3 “Specifics of proceedings in certain categories of cases” was supplemented with a new Chapter 25-1 “Proceedings on applications for recognition as extremist or terrorist information materials that call for the implementation of such activities or substantiate or justify the need for their implementation”, which regulates the proceedings on applications for recognition as extremist or terrorist information materials that call for the implementation of such activities or substantiate or justify the need for its implementation. Articles 261-1, 261-2, 261-3 of this chapter of the Civil Procedure Code of the KR provide for the procedure for submitting, considering an application, making a decision by the court and its enforcement.

It should be noted that this regulation also applies to the recognition of information materials as “terrorist”.

The positive aspect is that the specified categories of cases cannot be considered in the order of special proceedings, but must be considered in the order of action proceedings.

Thus, in accordance with Article 261-1 of the Civil Procedure Code of the KR, a prosecutor, within his/her competence, shall be entitled to apply to the court for recognition as extremist or terrorist information materials that call for the implementation of such activities or substantiate or justify the need for its implementation, at the place of their discovery, dissemination or location of the organisation that produced such materials, subject to the rules on jurisdiction established by Chapter 4 of the Civil Procedure Code of the KR.

In addition, based on the provisions of Article 15(3) of the new Law of the KR “On combating extremist activity” (as amended in 2023), it follows that in order for the court to establish elements of extremist activity in information materials not included in the Register of information materials recognised by the court as extremist, an opinion of a relevant expert review, conducted by an expert organisation or non-expert organisation, is required. It follows from the meaning of this provision that the prosecution authorities must submit an application to the court for recognition as extremist the materials that are not in the register, and attach the opinion of the relevant expert review.

In accordance with Article 28 of the Civil Procedure Code of the KR, a district court (a district court in a city, a city court) shall have jurisdiction over all civil cases, except for cases within the jurisdiction of the administrative court. Article 15 of the Administrative Court Procedure Code of the KR, which establishes the jurisdiction of the categories of cases to the administrative court, does not contain this category of cases. Accordingly, cases on the recognition of information materials as extremist or terrorist shall fall within the jurisdiction of a district court. Territorial jurisdiction shall be established based on the place of discovery, dissemination or location of the organisation that produced extremist materials.

According to Article 261-2(2) of the Civil Procedure Code of the KR, the application shall be considered by the court in the presence of the prosecutor who filed the claim and the persons indicated in the application, if their location is known. Failure to appear in court by the persons indicated in the application, duly notified of the time and place of the court hearing, shall not constitute an obstacle to the consideration and resolution of the case. If the location of the persons indicated in the application is unknown, the court shall consider the application in their absence (Article 261-2(3) of the Civil Procedure Code of the KR).

As can be seen from the above provision, the parties to the case are the prosecutor and the person indicated in the application. When preparing a statement of claim, the prosecutor shall determine the circle of persons whose rights and legitimate interests may be affected by the court decision, and specify them as the defendant. Who can be such a person – it is the author, editor, publisher, disseminator, provider, social network administrator, etc. Accordingly, each party must prove the circumstances to which it refers as the basis for its claims and objections. After the initiation of proceedings on the case at the request of the prosecutor, the court, as a security measure, shall have the right to temporarily restrict access to information materials until a decision is made (Article 261-1(2) of the Civil Procedure Code of the KR).

A prosecutor’s statement of claim shall be considered by the court within three days of its receipt. In cases where the facts contained in the application require additional verification, decisions on them shall be taken no later than within five days (Article 261-2 of the Civil Procedure Code of the KR).

If information materials are recognised as extremist, the court decision, which has entered into legal force, shall be sent to the executive authority in the area of justice for publication (Article 261-3 of the Civil Procedure Code of the KR). However, according to Article 15(4-5) of the new Law of the KR “On Combating Extremist Activity” (as amended in 2023), information materials recognised as extremist by the court shall be included in the list of extremist materials, the register of which is maintained by the General Prosecutor’s Office of the KR and which is subject to systematic updating on its official website.

Unfortunately, the legislator has not yet made changes to the Civil Procedure Code in this part. Therefore, based on the hierarchy of regulatory legal acts, the court must be guided by the provisions of the Civil Procedure Code, i.e., it should send such materials to the executive authority in the area of justice, which should then forward them to the General Prosecutor’s Office. Nevertheless, following the systemic interpretation of these provisions, until the amendments to the Civil Procedure Code are made, it would be optimal if the court confines itself to issuing a decision on recognising the materials as extremist, while the prosecutor involved in this case should forward the court decision to the General Prosecutor’s Office for inclusion in the Register of information materials recognised by the court as extremist.

According to Article 211(2) of the Civil Procedure Code of the KR, decisions made by courts on claims to recognise as extremist or terrorist information materials that call for the implementation of such activities or substantiate or justify the need for its implementation, shall come into force from the date of announcement.

The decision of the court may be appealed in the manner prescribed by Chapter 40 of the Civil Procedure Code of the KR “Proceedings in the court of cassation”, that is, in case of disagreement with the court decision, the person who is the defendant in the case shall have the right to appeal against the court decision only in the cassation procedure. Since, according to Article 351(2) of the Civil Procedure Code of the KR, acts of courts of first instance that have entered into legal force and have not been appealed on appeal procedure shall not be subject to revision in the cassation procedure, except for cases provided for in Chapter 25-1 of the Civil Procedure Code.

The new Law of the KR “On Counteracting Extremist Activities” (Article 4(1)) states that actions on planning, organising, preparing and committing acts aimed at the unlawful production and dissemination of extremist materials are recognised as extremist activities.

As noted above, at present, criminal liability is currently established for the unlawful production and dissemination of extremist materials (Article 332 of the Criminal Code):

“Article 332. Production, dissemination of extremist materials

  1. Production, dissemination, transportation or shipment of extremist materials or their purchase or storage for the purpose of dissemination, use of symbols or attributes of extremist organisations, as well as via the internet -

shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of up to five years, with or without deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to two years.

  1. The same acts committed:

1) by a group of persons;

2) by a group of persons by prior conspiracy;

3) with the use of financial or other material assistance received from foreign public associations, religious or other organisations or foreign citizens;

4) by using one’s official position;

5) while holding public events, –

shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of five to seven years, with or without deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term up to three years”.

An important change that this offense has undergone is that now the liability is incurred not just for the storage of extremist materials, but also for their storage for the purpose of dissemination.

Thus, based on the foregoing, we conclude that appropriate procedural measures should be taken depending on the category of information material found, as follows from the meaning of Article 15(3) of the Law of the KR “On combating extremist activity” (as amended in 2023)

2.2. Necessary procedural measures upon discovery of information materials with suspected elements of extremist activity

If informational materials with suspected elements of extremist activity are found, the first of all it is necessary to conduct an expert review for their identity with materials already recognised as “extremist” by a court decision and included in the Register of Extremist Materials. If the identity is established and other qualifying elements provided for in Article 332 of the CC KR are proven, a person may be held liable under this article.

In the event that the discovered material is not identical with the materials recognised by the court decision as “extremist”, and is not included in the Register of extremist materials, the material must be handed over to the prosecution authorities to resolve the issue of submitting a claim to the court to recognise them as extremist or terrorist in accordance with the procedure established by Chapter 25-1 of the Civil Procedure Code of the KR, and the proceedings of the initiated criminal case based on these materials were terminated.

To date, there is no Register on the website of the General Prosecutor’s Office and no list of extremist materials has been published yet. However, on the website of the Ministry of Justice of the KR, as of 2021, there is a “list of extremist materials”, consisting of 23 items, of which 7 have the name/title of the publication, while the rest are simply materials (publications, videos, photos, symbols, attributes) posted on the “internet resource”.

(Note, see the List of extremist materials posted on the website of the Ministry of Justice of the KR. Available on the website: http://minjust.gov.kg/ru/content/950) 

Based on the principle of validity of a regulatory legal act in time, in particular, in accordance with Article 9(5) of the Law of the KR “On regulatory legal acts of the Kyrgyz Republic”, the validity of a regulatory legal act shall not extend to relations that have arisen prior to its enactment. Accordingly, the Register should include materials recognised as such by the court since the enactment of the new Law of the KR “On Combating Extremist Activity”, and the list posted on the website of the Ministry of Justice of the KR should be referenced in the Register.

It should be noted that even with such a small number of “extremist materials” in this list of the Ministry of Justice, most of them are impossible to identify. When filling out the list, bibliographic rules are not used in any way, materials are not described by appearance, by cover, by first and last phrases, etc. The list contains the dates of the decision and the names of the courts that recognised them as extremist. In addition, there are no court decisions themselves that would allow to familiarise oneself with any characteristic of prohibited materials. Thus, for example, most of the materials are listed as “Information, materials and videos posted on the following websites: www.sunnti.com, archive.org, www.muslm.org, altairmedia.wordpress.com, justpaste.it, www.ansarsunna.com, www.paldf.net, lslamenmelilla.blogspot.com, www.islamist-movements.com”. Therefore, the General Prosecutor’s Office needs to develop a Register of information materials recognised as extremist, taking into account the above-mentioned gaps.

In addition, according to Article 18 of the new Law of the KR “On combating extremist activity”, a legal entity or other organisation shall be recognised as extremist and subject to forced liquidation based on a court decision. The grounds for the court to recognise a legal entity or other organisation operating on the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic as extremist shall be information and facts confirming their involvement in extremist activities. The procedure for such recognition is identical to the procedure for recognising materials as extremist, however, there is no separate procedure in the Civil Procedure Code. Accordingly, such a claim will be considered in the general procedure for claim proceedings.

In order for the court to establish the presence of elements of extremist activity in the activities of a legal entity or other organisation, an opinion of a relevant expert review, conducted by an expert organisation or non-expert organisation, is required.

A statement of claim on the recognition of a legal entity or other organisation as extremist and its forced liquidation, as well as on the prohibition of the use of its attributes and / or symbols, shall be submitted to the court by the prosecution authorities.

A copy of the court decision on the forced liquidation of a legal entity recognised by the court as extremist shall be sent to the relevant department of the authorised state body in charge of registering legal entities at the place of registration to enter the information on the liquidation in the unified state register of legal entities, branches (representative offices).

If a religious organisation or a representative office of a foreign religious organisation is registered with the authorised state body in charge of religious affairs, a copy of the court decision on forced liquidation shall be sent to the authorised state body in charge of religious affairs with a view to removal from the unified register of religious organisations.

If a court of the Kyrgyz Republic recognises a foreign or international organisation (its branches, affiliates, representative offices) as extremist, the activity of this organisation on the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic shall be prohibited, and its branches, affiliates, representative offices shall be liquidated.

The register of organisations recognised by the court as extremist shall be maintained by the General Prosecutor’s Office and shall be subject to systematic updating on its official website. However, so far there is no such Register on the website of the General Prosecutor’s Office.

The list of extremist materials of the Ministry of Justice of the KR does not contain a list of official materials, banned extremist organisations or any mention of the belonging of materials to a banned organisation, since according to the previously effective Law of the KR “On Combating Extremist Activity”, there was no such requirement to make public the materials of extremist organisations.

3. Forensic examination in cases related to combating extremist activity

3.1. Determining the type of forensic examination in cases related to combating extremist activity

At present, in practice, in most cases, when identifying elements of extremist activity in certain materials, the appointment of religious studies or theological expert review is encountered, which are often used as synonyms, which is a serious methodological error.

Despite the fact that both religious studies and theology deal with religion, they are distinguished by the object of study and the approaches used. Theology is primarily aimed at studying the deity itself, that is, at an object that is outside our reality, and since the understanding of God is different in every religion, theology is always denomination-oriented. Consequently, there is no such thing as a common theology - it always acts from the position of a particular teaching: Muslim, Christian (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant) or any other. Religious studies, on the other hand, bases its understanding of religion on empirical, that is, verifiable material and on strict rationalistic comprehension of the data obtained.

When conducting a religious studies expert review, it is unacceptable that an expert or a member of an expert group is a representative of any denomination. In the presence of real religious competition, the transfer of the function of a state expert or specialist-consultant to a representative of one of the denominations may cause a biased and inadequate assessment of other faiths, since the established standards of thinking often prevent them from rising above the level of the habitual denominational perceptions, and this, in turn, can provoke an inter-denominational conflict. (Note: See Zagrebina I.V., Pchelintsev A.V., Elbakyan E.S. Religious expert review: a textbook for Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes. M.: Yurait, 2017. P. 117.)

According to Article 8 of the Law of the KR of June 24, 2013 No. 100 “On forensic activities”, a forensic expert shall be obliged to conduct research on a strictly scientific and practical basis, within the limits of the relevant specialty, comprehensively and in full. Thus, when conducting an independent expert review, the expert must be guided by general scientific principles and conduct a religious, rather than so-called theological expert review.

Thus, if religious studies expert review is an independent, objective review based on scientific principles and research methods, the theological expert review is a view on the subject of research “from within” a particular religion, due to which it is denomination-oriented and, accordingly, evaluative in nature.

The tasks of religious studies expert review primarily include:

(1) Determining the religious/non-religious nature of the organisation;

(2) Establishing the religious affiliation of the organisation;

(3) Assessment of the conformity of the declared forms and methods of activity of a religious organisation during its accounting registration / re-registration, with their actual activities (the task of the state religious studies expert review);

(4) The study of the religious literature of the organisation, which reveals value orientations, missionary calls, socially significant attitudes in order to differentiate calls of extremist and non-extremist nature (as part of a comprehensive psychological and linguistic expert review).

(Note, see the Methodological Guidelines for conducting religious studies and comprehensive forensic psycholinguistic expert review in the Kyrgyz Republic. The electronic version is available at: http://www.advocacy.kg/index.php/4263-3-aprelya-posobie-metodicheskoe-rukovodstvo-po-provedeniyu-religiovedcheskoj-i-sudebnoj-kompleksnoj-psikhologo-lingvisticheskoj-kpl-ekspertizy). 

The Law of the KR “On Freedom of Religion and Religious Organisations in the Kyrgyz Republic” provides for such a type of expert review as religious studies expert review, which, depending on the purpose of the religious studies expert review, is appointed as a forensic religious studies expert review and a state religious studies expert review.

Thus, for the purposes of court proceedings, a forensic religious studies expert review can be appointed and conducted as an independent homogeneous expert review and as a religious studies component within the framework of a comprehensive forensic psychological and linguistic expert review, since in different categories of cases it becomes necessary to establish facts related to the content or orientation of texts (statements).

For example, under Article 331 “Establishment and financing of an extremist organisation”, Article 332 “Production, dissemination of extremist materials” of the CC KR; under civil cases involving the application of the Laws of the KR “On combating extremist activity” and “On freedom of religion and religious organisations in the Kyrgyz Republic”; under administrative cases involving the challenging by legal entities of various orders and warnings issued by state bodies, local self-government bodies and their officials. Therefore, it is the most appropriate to appoint a comprehensive forensic psychological and linguistic expert review, along with religious studies expert review, for the above categories of criminal cases.

3.2. Distinctive features of the state religious studies expert review

The procedure and conditions for conducting the state religious studies expert review (hereinafter - SRER) are determined by the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic “On freedom of religion and religious organisations in the Kyrgyz Republic”. The SRER is conducted to establish the compliance of constituent documents, as well as other documents of religious content, spiritual (religious) educational programmes, information materials of religious content and religious items with the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic in accordance with the Law of the KR “On freedom of religion and religious organisations in the Kyrgyz Republic” and is appointed by the state body in charge of religious affairs represented by the State Commission for Religious Affairs (hereinafter - the SCRA), which is under the authority of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic (Articles 10,11,12,22 of the Law of the KR “On freedom of religion and religious organisations in the Kyrgyz Republic”).

The SRER is conducted by a religious studies expert group acting under the SCRA, which carries out work on the development and implementation of state policy in the religious sphere and coordinates the activities of state bodies of the Kyrgyz Republic in the field of religions.

The SCRA appoints an SRER in the following cases:

1) receipt of an application for accounting registration or re-registration of religious organisations, missions (representative offices) of foreign religious organisations (hereinafter - missions),

2) to make a decision on the suspension of mission’s activity,

3) production, purchase, storage, import, export and dissemination of religious literature, other printed, audio, video materials,

4) receipts of religious literature in library funds.

When religious literature is added to the library collections of the Kyrgyz Republic, conducting a SRER is obligatory (Article 22(3) of the Law of the KR “On freedom of religion and religious organisations in the Kyrgyz Republic”).

The objects of religious studies expert review include:

1) constituent documents submitted for registration or re-registration of religious organisations, missions (representative offices) of foreign religious organisations,

2) religious literature, other printed, audio, video materials,

3) documents of religious content (documents defining the structure, fundamentals of the mission’s teachings, religious practice, as well as documents characterising the forms and methods of religious activity).

If elements of extremism are detected, the experts of the SRER shall suspend the expert review and notify the SCRA in writing, and further the SCRA shall refer to the relevant competent authorities for a comprehensive expert review.

3.3. Comprehensive forensic psychological and linguistic expert review (CFPLER), performed in the framework of criminal cases related to combating extremist activity

3.3.1. Problems of practice

When evaluating objects of expert review for the presence of elements of extremist activity in them, experts need to determine whether the activities of any organisation are aimed at the goals provided for in Article 4(1) of the Law of the KR “On countering extremist activity” (as amended in 2023). The previously effective Law of the KR “On Combating Extremist Activity” (as amended in 2005) provided for such a special type of expert review as an expert review to identify extremist content in certain information materials and oral statements, for which a coordinating expert committee was to be established, the Regulations and composition of which were to be approved by the Government of the KR (Article 4(2)). According to the meaning of this provision, the specified expert committee was authorised to conduct an expert review in all categories of cases in order to identify extremist content in certain information materials and oral statements.

Despite the high demand, this committee was not established, and in practice all materials were sent for religious studies expert review to the SCRA. However, based on the objectives of the religious studies expert review conducted by the SCRA, the immediate identification of elements of extremist activity, as outlined in the Law of the KR “On combating extremist activity”, does not fall within its competence. The study of texts in cases related to combating extremism to identify the elements of extremism should be carried out by specialists of various specialties and should be part of the tasks of a comprehensive psychological and linguistic expert review (hereinafter - CFPLER).

 

3.3.2. Concept and tasks of CFPLER

CFPLER of texts in cases related to combating extremist activity is a type of forensic examination appointed during pre-trial or judicial proceedings, when there is a need to establish facts related to the content or orientation of texts or statements:

1) in crimes or offenses of an extremist nature provided for by the Criminal Code and the Code of Misdemeanours of the KR;

2) in administrative cases involving contestation by public associations or religious organisations of various orders and warnings issued by state bodies, local self-government bodies and their officials;

3) in civil cases on the recognition of materials as extremist/terrorist.

The tasks of the CFPLER of texts in cases related to combating extremism are as follows:

- determining whether the text contains calls for certain actions;

- determining whether the text contain propaganda (of national, religious, linguistic, racial, and other superiority, exclusivity or inferiority);

- determining whether the text contains justification or substantiation of extremist activity, or terrorism;

- determining whether the speech acts (of the text) are aimed at inciting discord, enmity, hatred, humiliation of human dignity, insulting a person on certain grounds (gender, race, nationality, attitude to religion, etc.).

It should be borne in mind that legal assessment is not within the competence of experts and expert review. Experts can indicate whether there are elements of extremism, while legal assessment shall be made by specialists of law enforcement agencies and the court.

3.3.3. The role of an expert linguist

Regardless of the nature of extremism (political, religious, ethnic, national, racial, etc.), it is an expert linguist (not a philologist!) who plays the key role. The specificity of the forensic linguistic expert review, appointed in the above-mentioned criminal cases, lies in the fact that the results of the linguistic analysis of the content-semantic and formal side of the speech work serve as a source of evidence of the presence or absence of corpus delicti, i.e., the elements of the objective side of the crime. It is the linguist who can determine the following elements of extremism (call, propaganda of views, incitement of discord, enmity, justification ...).

 

3.3.4. The role of an expert psychologist

The analysis of the impact accompanying the text message is carried out by an expert psychologist. His/her tasks include determining the presence of a purposeful harmful or neutral nature, determining the occurrence of any mental states accompanying the perception of the text and the possible consequences of such states, highlighting the psychological impact accompanying text message in audio and video materials. At the same time, it should be taken into account that any sources of information - visual, auditory, kinaesthetic - have the ability to exert a psychological impact on a person, different in strength and orientation. When conducting a comprehensive expert review, an expert psychologist is involved, first of all, to analyse visual materials, to highlight the presence of possible factors of psychological influence in them.

 

3.3.5. The role of an expert in religious studies

In the event that the text is of religious origin, an expert in religious studies is invited to the expert group for conducting a comprehensive psychological and linguistic expert review, who can determine the religious affiliation of the material under study; provide religious-related information about the organisation/group/material (history, teaching, nature of ideology, institutionalisation, etc.).

Thus, when appointing an expert review in cases related to combating extremism, a comprehensive psychological and linguistic expert review with a religious studies component (if the material is of a religious nature) should be conducted, where:

  • The linguist determines what is said and how it is said (content and form);
  • The psychologist determines the orientation of the statements and the possible impact;
  • The religious studies scholar determines which religion or religious movement the objects under study belong to, the specifics of teaching and cult.

Despite the fact that a linguist can find propaganda of exclusivity in religious texts, only a comprehensive approach in conducting an expert review will make it possible to determine whether it is indeed unlawful. In addition, to justify their actions, extremist and terrorist organisations often refer in their arguments to religious materials written in different historical periods. And since such literature was created under appropriate conditions, had certain goals and audience, a researcher should be very careful when making an expert judgement on recognising such literature as extremist. That is why, as a rule, various kinds of sacred writings, such as the Koran, the Old and New Testaments, the Bhagavad Gita, etc., cannot be used as objects of expert review.

3.4. The procedure and conditions for the appointment of CFPLER to determine the presence of elements of extremist activity

3.4.1. Legal and regulatory framework 

According to Article 15(3) of the Law of the KR “On Combating Extremist Activity”, in order for the court to establish elements of extremist activity in information materials not included in the register of information materials recognised by the court as extremist, an opinion of a relevant expert review conducted by an expert organisation or non-expert organisation is required.

The procedure and conditions for performing a forensic examination are defined by the following legal acts:

3.4.2. Subjects and objects of CFPLER

Comprehensive forensic psychological and linguistic expert review (CFPLER) is appointed in relation to proceedings in criminal, civil, administrative cases, etc.

The procedure for appointing an expert review in civil cases is set out in Articles 93-100 of the Civil Procedure Code of the KR and in administrative cases in Articles 75-82 of the Administrative Court Procedure Code of the KR. 

In accordance with Article 179(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code of the KR, an expert review in criminal cases can be entrusted to and performed by:

1) state and (or) non-state experts;

2) on a one-time basis by other persons who have special knowledge, in accordance with the procedure and under the conditions provided for by law;

3) persons, from among those proposed by the participants in the proceedings who have special knowledge, including those who are not citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic.

CFPLER shall be carried out by the Forensic Service under the Ministry of Justice of the Kyrgyz Republic and other forensic organisations, experts in accordance with the legislation on forensic activities.

The requirements for forensic experts are established by the Law of the KR “On forensic activities”, in particular, Article 14 states that a state forensic expert, a non-state forensic expert or another person who has the necessary special knowledge can act as a forensic expert. A state and non-state forensic expert shall be an employee of a forensic organisation who performs a forensic examination in the course of performing his/her official duties.

A state forensic expert shall not be a civil servant, except for experts from law enforcement agencies. A person engaged to participate in the case as a forensic expert, who is not employed by any forensic organisation, shall perform a forensic examination in accordance with the instructions of the body (person) that appointed him/her, pursuant to the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Conducting a forensic religious examination cannot be entrusted to the SCRA, since this body is not authorised to perform a forensic examination, however, an employee of the SCRA can be engaged as a forensic expert in accordance with Article 185 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the KR “Performance of an expert review outside an expert organisation” Article 13(6) of the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic “On forensic activities”. In this case, the examination shall be represented by an opinion of a specific specialist, and not of an authorised state body.

CFPLER objects include SRER objects, as well as text on any medium (paper, electronic device, it can be a file of any format displaying text), recordings of oral speeches (at a rally, in a TV show, at any other event), video, films and video sequences displayed on any recording media (audio and video phonograms), audio-visual product on the internet, etc.

3.4.3. Grounds for the appointment of CFPLER

An expert review shall be appointed in cases where the circumstances relevant to the case can be established as a result of an examination of the materials carried out by an expert on the basis of special scientific knowledge. The presence of such knowledge among other persons participating in criminal proceedings does not exempt the investigating judge, court, investigator, authorised official of the body of inquiry from the need to appoint an expert review in appropriate cases (Article 178 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the KR).

Having recognised the necessity to appoint an expert review, the investigating judge, court, investigator, authorised official of the body of inquiry shall issue a ruling thereto, which shall specify (Article 179 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the KR):

1) position, surname and initials of the person who appointed the expert review;

2) type of expert review;

3) grounds for appointment of an expert review;

4) information about the person sent for expert review;

5) items sent for expert review, and information on their origin, as well as permission for the possible complete or partial destruction of the said items, changes in their appearance or basic properties in the course of the expert review;

6) last name, first name and patronymic of the expert or the name of the expert organisation where the expert review is to be performed;

7) questions posed to the expert.

If it is necessary to perform complex expert examinations, they shall be carried out by a commission of experts (commission expert review), while for establishing the circumstances of a case on the basis of the use of special knowledge related to different types of expert specialties or fields of study, the performance of complex expert reviews shall be organised, entrusted to experts of the relevant specialties.

3.4.4. Possibilities to challenge a forensic expert opinion

An expert opinion shall not have a predetermined force (Article 76 of the Civil Procedure Code of the KR, Article 55 of the Administrative Court Procedure Code of the KR, Article 23 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the KR), however, as practice shows, it can influence the outcome of the case. Therefore, if one of the parties to the dispute does not agree with the results of the expert review, it should take immediate action to challenge it.

It should be borne in mind that it is impossible to challenge the opinion of the expert review in itself. The dissenting party may only submit a motion for an additional or repeated expert review.

The appointment of an additional expert review is relevant when the opinion of the previous expert review turned out to be unclear. A repeated expert review is appointed when the data are questioned as a whole.

The following number of reasons for challenging the expert’s opinion can be singled out:

1) facts of violation of the procedural rights of participants in the court proceedings during the appointment and performance of a forensic examination, which affected or could have affected the content of the experts’ opinions;

2) commission of actions by an expert that cast doubt on his/her objectivity and impartiality;

3) inconsistency of the expert’s qualification with the tasks of the expert review;

4) contradiction of the expert’s opinions with other evidence available in the case, in particular, the opinion of an extrajudicial expert (specialist).

In this regard, four possible ways to challenge an expert review can be distinguished:

1) reviewing the expert’s opinion,

2) conducting a repeated expert review,

3) participation of a specialist in the process,

4) calling an expert.

Reviewing the opinion is the most popular method in recent times. Procedural legislation allows review as a type of proof of one’s position. Such a review can be considered as written evidence, and the reviewer himself/herself as a specialist. Article 53 of the Civil Procedure Code of the KR, Article 46 of the Administrative Court Procedure Code of the KR, Article 57 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the KR provide for the possibility of participation of a specialist in the process.

Reviewing the expert opinion is performed to establish the reliability, correctness, validity and completeness of the conclusions. The main criteria for reviewing the expert’s opinion are as follows:

- compliance of the content of the expert opinion with the current legislation;

- compliance with the established procedure for the appointment and performance of an expert review (including the competence of an expert organisation or institution, the qualifications of an expert);

- the validity, correctness and efficiency of the application of the relevant research methods;

- completeness and comprehensiveness of the conducted examination;

- completeness and validity of the conclusions drawn by the expert, etc.

As a recommendation, it is advisable to submit the same number of reviews as the number of experts who signed the expert opinion being reviewed (for example, if the opinion of a commission expert review, consisting of 5 experts, is reviewed, then the same number of reviews should be submitted from 5 experts of the same level).

A repeated expert review is possible only if there are good reasons and grounds to believe that the expert has made a number of gross errors and the reliability of the expert review is in serious doubt. This rarely happens for a number of reasons. The main reason is that neither the Honorable Court nor the Parties often have such deep knowledge as an expert and it is quite difficult for them to assess the methods and techniques involved in performing the expert review.

Participation of a specialist in the proceedings. According to Article 57 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the KR, the court may involve specialists to obtain advice, explanations and provide immediate technical assistance. Practice shows that arguments about the completeness, correctness of the expert review, coming from a party or a representative in the case, are not perceived by the court.

In most cases, at the stage of forensic examination of a case, it ends with the consideration of the case on the merits, the court leaves to make a decision. If one of the parties does not agree with the result of the examination, its arguments may be disregarded by the court, as they come from a person who does not have special knowledge. The dissenting party should take care to have a specialist appear in court.

The appearance of a specialist must be by the next court hearing after the receipt of the opinion of the forensic examination. This is necessary to provide the court with qualified explanations and advice. At the beginning of the court hearing, it is necessary to file a motion to summon and question the specialist.

A reviewer of a forensic expert opinion may be involved as a specialist. S/he will be able to provide the court with explanations, on the substance of the expert opinion studied by him/her. The party concerned should ensure that the questions to the expert and his/her answers are fully reflected in the minutes of the court hearing.

The expert shall be summoned in order to answer the questions raised by the party on the expert’s opinion. A motivated motion shall be prepared for this procedural action.

The motion to summon an expert shall specify specific details of the research part, parts of the opinion, which, according to the party, were carried out with violations, especially if contradictions, incompleteness of thought, inconsistency, technical errors, typos or other details that require explanation, are found in them.

This is one of the most important details, since the correct formulation of questions can prove fallacy and raise doubts about the evidentiary properties of the expert’s opinion: relevance, admissibility, reliability or sufficiency. The result of the expert’s participation in the proceeding allows: either, if the questions are raised correctly, to challenge the opinion of the forensic examination; or, on the contrary, to strengthen the conclusions given by the expert in the forensic opinion. 

3.4.5. Recommendations for challenging an expert opinion

Let’s assume that a forensic expert opinion reveals violations that cast doubt on its evidentiary properties: relevance, admissibility, reliability or sufficiency. As practice shows, the chances that the court will agree with this and make a decision on the basis of other evidence in the case are minimal.

Before taking measures to challenge the forensic expert opinion, it is necessary to determine the ultimate goal - what to request from the court as a result of the violations identified in the forensic expert opinion.

Procedural legislation (Article 98 of the Civil Procedure Code of the KR, Article 80 of the Administrative Court Procedure Code of the KR, Article 331(9) of the Criminal Procedure Code of the KR) provides for two options:

1) performance of a repeated expert review.

2) performance of an additional expert review.

It is important to take into account that a repeated expert review is appointed in exceptional cases and the need for its appointment must be proven (for example, if significant violations of the procedure for appointment or performance of an expert review established by the procedural legislation are revealed).

Therefore, both options can be used:

- a motion to perform a repeated expert review;

- separately (in case of rejection of the first motion) prepare a motion for the appointment of an additional expert review (on additional questions, in order to establish additional circumstances). If the questions are carefully and professionally prepared, the result of the additional expert review may refute the expert opinion made earlier.

Important: all motions, statements, explanations must be in writing and motivated, especially if a participant in the proceedings asks the court to attach evidence on the merits of the contested forensic expert review (review/or reviews, independent expert opinion, specialist’s opinion) to the case file.

Despite the significance of an expert opinion in the process of proving the case, any opinion can be challenged in the following ways:

Procedure. The performance of an expert review must strictly comply with the requirements imposed on it by the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic, in particular, these are the requirements for the basis for the appointment, the identity of the expert, obligatory observance of the rights of persons concerned, and others.

Validity. In this case, the expert’s conclusion is questioned by pointing out the internal contradictions of the opinion itself, lack of validity (lack of indication of the source of information), and so on.

Expert opinion. A specialist may be questioned in a court hearing to challenge an expert opinion. Giving an assessment of the performed expert review, the specialist points out the choice of incorrect methods and ways of examination, the use of outdated, incorrect sources, the presence of contradictions in the expert's conclusions, and more.

Presentation of own expert opinion. The presence of two expert opinions, the conclusions of which are directly opposite to each other, necessitates the appointment of a repeated expert review by the court.