Kyrgyzstan court reinstates life sentence for human rights advocate News
Kyrgyzstan court reinstates life sentence for human rights advocate

The Chui Regional Court in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Tuesday reinstated the life sentence for human rights defender Azimjan Askarov. The court found Askarov guilty again [AP report] of stirring up ethnic hatred during deadly clashes between local Uzbeks and Kyrgyz in 2010 and of being involved in the murder of a policeman. The reinstatement of his sentence has raised international concern over the state of human rights in the area.

Human rights in Kyrgyzstan have been an issue [UN report] as ethnic conflict between the local Uzbeks and Kyrgyz has been bloody. In 2010 a court in Kyrgyzstan sentenced 19 ethnic Uzbeks for their involvement in the June 2010 ethnic violence [Guardian backgrounder] that resulted in more than 300 deaths and an additional 2,000 injuries. Seventeen of the Uzbeks received life sentences [JURIST report] and two received 25-year sentences for their participation in a riot that blocked a major highway and killed 16 people in the Suzak district. The defense lawyers, who work for a local human rights organization and were giving free legal representation to the men, were allegedly threatened [AI report] by relatives of the Kyrgyz victims and told to keep silent during the trial.

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