The lawyer of sentenced to life in prison human rights activist Azimzhan Askarov, Valerian Vakhitov, is preparing another statement to the UN Human Rights Committee. He told 24.kg news agency.
According to him, the Supreme Court’s decision not to send Askarov’s case for review due to newly discovered evidence cannot be considered as legitimate, because his client was not given an opportunity to speak in court. «That is, he was deprived of the right to fair justice. Therefore, we decided to appeal to the UN Committee,» Valerian Vakhitov told.
The Supreme Court of Kyrgyzstan did not send the case of the sentenced to life in prison Azimzhan Askarov for review due to newly discovered evidence. Thus, the appeal of Askarov’s lawyers was denied on May 13.
On December 2, 2019, the Supreme Court decriminalized a number of counts and commuted the punishment of the human rights defender under certain articles. However, the main article of the charge «Complicity in Murder» of the Criminal Code, under which Azimzhan Askarov received the life sentence, remained.
Azimzhan Askarov is accused of inciting ethnic hatred and murder of a policeman during the June events in the south of the republic in 2010.
