Kyrgyzstan’s authorities should not contest the appeal of journalist and human rights defender Azimzhan Askarov and should release him immediately. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in a statement.
The Supreme Court set the date of review of the criminal case under newly discovered evidence in relation to human rights activist Azimzhan Askarov for February 25.
If Kyrgyzstan wants to wash the terrible stain from its press freedom and human rights record, it should finally release Azimzhan Askarov.
Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator
«Kyrgyz authorities should deliver long-overdue justice in Askarov’s final appeal, and allow him to reunite with his loved ones and get adequate medical treatment,» she stressed.
As a contributor to independent news websites including Voice of Freedom, and director of the local human rights group Vozdukh (Air), Askarov documented human rights violations for over a decade until his arrest in June 2010, according to CPJ research. During CPJ’s July 2019 prison visit and in letters he wrote from prison, which CPJ reviewed, Askarov said he was in poor health and complained about the harsh conditions in prison.
