Kyrgyzstan: son of human rights activist Askarov appealed to the President and the UN
The son of Azimzhan Askarov, sentenced to life imprisonment, Sherzodbek Askarov addressed an open letter to the President, the UN, and government agencies.
“By shameful decision in three courts after June events of 2010, my father, Azimzhan Askarov, was sentenced to life imprisonment. The international community and human rights defenders of the Kyrgyz Republic consider and believed that the criminal case of my father is an indicator of the legal capacity of the authorities,” Sherzodbek Askarov wrote.
According to him, it is no secret that the case against his father was falsified and prepared in favor of the employees of the district police and the Prosecutor’s office.
“There is not and there was no evidence except a faked charge with the police against my father. I want to remind you that my father has repeatedly stated this through the media. He openly said that the curator of the power structures of the interim government A. Beknazarov and the ex-president Roza Otunbaeva are directly related to his detention,” Askarov’s son said.
He recalled that on March 31, 2016, the UN Human Rights Committee recognized that the state in the investigation and trial of the criminal case against Azimzhan Askarov was in violation of the article 7, separately and together with the article 1 and the article 14, paragraph 3 (b) and (e) of the International Covenant on civil and political rights.
“The Committee noted the use of torture, cruel, inhuman, degrading treatment against my father, the lack of legal protection and an impartial trial,” he added.
According to Sherzodbek Askarov, the case against his father has once again proved that the Kyrgyz authorities not only do not respect their internal legislative base and Constitution, but also the Republic’s obligations under international treaties.
“By its action, the state could not save face, because in terms of respect for human rights, the country was at the level of Cuba.
How, after that, can Kyrgyzstan be considered as a legal democratic country? What can be expected from such a state?”, Askarov’s son asked.
He claims that harassment, bullying, and unlawful acts continue to this day.
A month after the acquittal of the UN Human Rights Committee in 2016, the house, that had been inherited from the parents, was confiscated.
