Kyrgyzstan's Supreme Court on September 3 rejected a jailed human rights activist's appeal for a review of the case against him.
Azimjan Askarov, a Kyrgyz citizen of Uzbek origin, is serving a life sentence after being convicted of involvement in organizing deadly clashes between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz in southern Kyrgyzstan in 2010 and in the murder of a policeman who was killed during the violence.
More than 450 people, mostly ethnic Uzbeks, were killed in the clashes.
Askarov says he is innocent and that his conviction was retaliation for his human rights activism.
Earlier this year, a district court in Bishkek ruled that Askarov's case must be reviewed because new evidence had emerged.
However, the Bishkek City Court later annulled that ruling, prompting Askarov's lawyers to file the appeal with the Supreme Court.
