Joint Letter: NGOs urge Kyrgyzstan to ensure Azimjon Askarov’s right to a fair trial

In a joint letter, International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) together with 6 other international human rights and press freedom organisations, call on Gulbara Kaliyeva, Chairperson of Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Court, to ensure that wrongfully imprisoned human rights defender Azimjon Askarov’s rights, including to a fair trial, are fully respected and complied with during the review of his appeal.

The lawyers representing Mr. Askarov have filed an appeal against the July 30, 2019 ruling by the Chuy Regional Court which denied their request to apply the recent amendments to Kyrgyzstan’s Criminal Code – mandatory for all criminal cases nationwide – to the verdict handed down in September 2010.

We urge Gulbara Kaliyeva to ensure that while reviewing the case, the Supreme Court judges demonstrate their impartiality and honest commitment to the rule of law, and that their ruling complies with the March 2016 UN Human Rights Committee ruling.

Read the full statement here.