Kyrgyz Supreme Court Upholds Life Sentence For Human Rights Activist

Kyrgyzstan's Supreme Court upheld the life sentence of ethnic Uzbek human rights activist Azimjon Askarov, despite calls by domestic and international rights groups for his release. The Sweden-based group, Civil Rights Defenders, condemned the May 13 ruling and called on Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov to "intervene and free [Askarov] immediately." Askarov, who turns 69 this month, has been behind bars for nearly 10 years on what human rights and media-freedom watchdogs described as trumped-up charges.