The Justice Initiative Calls for Investigation into Death of Human Rights Defender in Kyrgyzstan

NEW YORK—The Open Society Justice Initiative has made a submission to the UN Human Rights Committee asking it to remind the government of Kyrgyzstan of its duty to conduct an effective and impartial investigation into the circumstances and causes of human rights defender Azimjan Askarov’s death in prison. The submission also asks that Kyrgyzstan quash Askarov’s conviction and publish an official declaration to this effect, as well as conduct an investigation into the circumstances of the torture to which he was subject while in detention.

Askarov, an ethnic Uzbek, was a journalist and director of a local human rights organization. He was arrested and tortured in 2010 after documenting violence that erupted in southern Kyrgyzstan, and was sentenced to life imprisonment in a trial that failed to meet international fair trial standards. In 2016, the UN Human Rights Committee found that he had been arbitrarily detained, held in inhumane conditions, tortured, and prevented from adequately preparing his trial defense, and released an opinion that Kyrgyzstan should overturn his conviction and release him immediately. Askarov was represented before the committee by his local legal team and lawyers from the Justice Initiative. In the subsequent years, Kyrgyzstan failed to implement the 2016 decision of the committee.

Moreover, Kyrgyzstan failed to protect the right to life and health of Askarov while in detention by refusing to release him on humanitarian grounds during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite his age and pre-existing cardiac and respiratory conditions. Furthermore, the government did not provide him with adequate medical care when he contracted a serious illness with COVID-19-like symptoms that resulted in his death. He died on July 25, weeks after the symptoms first began.

“Kyrgyz officials are responsible for the wrongful imprisonment, mistreatment, and failure to protect health and life of Azimjan Askarov that led to his death in prison. They must be held accountable,” said Masha Lisitsyna, senior managing legal officer at the Justice Initiative. “Meanwhile, the international community must continue to hold Kyrgyzstan accountable for Askarov’s unjust imprisonment and clear his name."