Supreme Court upholds verdict in case against akyn Askat Zhetigen

The Supreme Court of Kyrgyzstan upheld the verdicts of the District and City Courts in the case against akyn Askat Zhetigen. The court’s press service told 24.kg news agency.

As a result, Askat Zhetigen was sentenced to three years in prison. This sentence was initially handed down by the Sverdlovsky District Court of the capital on July 1, 2024, which found him guilty. On October 17, 2024, the judicial panel of the Bishkek City Court upheld the first-instance ruling.

On March 17, officers of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS) detained Askat Zhetigen for his criticism of the authorities and initiated a criminal case against him under the charge «Calls for the violent seizure of power.» He was brought from Naryn to Bishkek and placed in a temporary detention facility.

On April 9, Askat Zhetigen appealed to the Ombudsman and the National Center for Prevention of Torture, stating that on March 20, the day of his arrest, he was subjected to torture. According to his statement, he was electrocuted for about an hour.

However, he stated in an explanatory letter that he had not been subjected to torture and that his health and safety were not under threat. «I have no complaints against my cellmates or the staff of the correctional facility. I wrote this statement personally and truthfully,» his letter read.