Kyrgyzstan’s Top Court Fails to Deliver Expected Askarov Release

NEW YORK—Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Court this week failed to free the country’s best-known political prisoner, Azimjan Askarov, in a disappointing breach of the country's international obligations that ignored a ruling of the UN Human Rights Committee.

Askarov, aged 65, has been in prison in Kyrgyzstan since 2010, serving a life sentence after a manifestly unfair trial, on charges including alleged involvement in the death of a policeman during a wave of ethnic violence that swept the south of the country that year.

The UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) ruled on March 31 this year that Askarov had been arbitrarily detained; that he had been tortured, mistreated and held in inhumane conditions; and that he had been prevented from adequately preparing his trial defense.

As a result, it said, Kyrgyzstan "is obligated, inter alia, to take appropriate steps to immediately release the author; quash the author’s conviction and, if necessary, conduct a new trial, in accordance with the principles of fair hearings, presumption of innocence and other procedural safeguards; and provide the author with adequate compensation."

However, in its ruling on July 12, Kyrgyzstan's Supreme Court sent his case back to the appeal court for further review, after a legally flawed hearing during which relatives of the deceased policeman and others insulted and threatened Askarov’s legal team, with no attempt by the court to maintain order.

In addition to the intimidation of Askarov’s legal team, the court granted “aggrieved party” status to the relatives of the dead policeman and focused on the events that led to Askarov’s arrest, rather than focusing on the violations of his rights identified by the UN HRC.

Askarov’s lawyer Nurbek Toktakunov said: “The hearing of the Supreme Court basically missed the point of the review—which was to focus on the violations of Askarov’s rights committed by state officials, and to implement the remedies required by the UN Committee.”

Robert Varenik, acting executive director of the Open Society Justice Initiative, which represented Askarov before the UN HRC together with Mr Toktakunov, said:

“It is disturbing that, instead of focusing on the remedies identified by the UN Human Rights Committee, the Supreme Court stated that the appeals court will check whether the UN HRC decision is 'well-founded.'  This approach runs against Kyrgyzstan’s obligations under international law and its own Constitution. The authorities of Kyrgyzstan should implement the decision of UN HRC, and immediately release Azimjan Askarov.”