Head of Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry passes a protest note to Richard M. Miles in connection with awarding of Azimzhan Askarov with State Department award

The Foreign Minister of Kyrgyzstan passed a note of protest to the U.S. Charge d'Affaires ad Interim in the Kyrgyz Republic Richard M. Miles in connection with awarding of Azimzhan Askarov with the Prize of the State Department.

Erlan Abdyldaev handed a protest note of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic in connection with the date of July 16, 2015 when Azimzhan Askarov was awarded the US State Department "Human Rights Defender" prize.

He noted that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs categorically rejects and does not recognize the presentation of this award to the person, convicted of a serious criminal offense in Kyrgyzstan, and expresses its strong protest.

Earlier, the Foreign Ministry issued an official statement on this occasion.