Panorama Shymkent, 20/06/2008
F. Sharafutdinova

   The newspaper wrote about the Muhtarovyh family two years ago. The son, Ruslan, was released from captivity after a hundred days. The release occurred after the local media had published photos and information about the missing boy.
   At the time, the family had not spoken to the police about the person who had held their son in slavery. The mother was just happy to have her son back again and to do so seemed like it would be more trouble than would be worth it.
   After six months Ruslan disappeared again. This happened on April 24, 2007, immediately after his visit to a doctor. The doctor said, "Yes it turns out we have a fugitive". In fact, Ruslan had been ill since childhood and now at 20 years old can neither read nor write. His current diagnosis is that he has mild mental retardation, i.e., he can independently assess temporary situations and foresee their immediate consequences.
   This time, Ruslan was found a year and one month later. It turned out that the day when he was at the doctor; he went to the railway station. From there he was brought to Darbaza, a distant village.
   A man called Kazret, brought Ruslan from Shymkent, after which he lived as a farm laborer. The search for Ruslan is a long story, but one can be certain that his peonage, slavery was not a sweet existence. Involuntary labor is bestial treatment. This time the family wanted to bring justice to the people who held their son in slavery for more than a year. They felt that regulating this phenomenon must occur because who knows how many Kazrets there are exploiting potential laborers? If at least one of them is punished in public it could be a lesson for others; however, sadly in the meantime this phenomenon is becoming more commonplace.
   Mastura made statements to the ODVD, a human rights organization. The outcome of this case will be reported at a later time.