The Lenin District Court in Bishkek found activist and politician Mavlyan Askarbekov guilty and sentenced to two years in prison on offenses related to a law on incitement of racial, ethnic, national, religious, or interregional hatred, a verdict he called "absurd."

The hijab has long been a hot topic in Muslim-majority Central Asia, where many authoritarian governments have suppressed Islamic political and religious groups and any outward signs of religiosity. The debate has been rekindled as the new academic year started this month.