Azimjon Askarov, Kyrgyzstan
2012 CPJ International Press Freedom Awardee (Courtesy of CNN) Azimjon Askarov, a Kyrgyz journalist and human rights defender whose work has exposed official wrongdoing and abuse, is serving a life term in prison after a judicial process marred by torture, lack of evidence, and fabricated charges. His prosecution and conviction have been challenged by a…
Kyrgyz ambassador pledges to address Askarov case
Washington, D.C., June 13, 2012–The Kyrgyz ambassador to the United States has agreed to present CPJ’s findings on Azimjon Askarov, a journalist unjustly sentenced to a life term, to the president of Kyrgyzstan after a CPJ delegation met with him today to review the case.
CPJ urges Kyrgyzstan to release Azimjon Askarov
Dear President Atambayev: The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing to bring to your attention a new report we have issued on Azimjon Askarov, an investigative journalist and human rights defender who was sentenced in September 2010 to life in prison. CPJ’s review of Askarov’s case, outlined in the attached report, has found that his probe and trial were marred by numerous procedural violations, including his torture in custody and the lack of any evidence implicating him in criminal activity.
In Kyrgyzstan, injustice and torture in Askarov case
Azimjon Askarov, an investigative reporter and human rights defender, had ended careers and embarrassed officials time and again with his reporting on law enforcement abuses in southern Kyrgyzstan. When ethnic unrest broke out in June 2010, authorities struck back with a vengeance. A CPJ special report by Muzaffar Suleymanov
Kyrgyzstan Supreme Court upholds Askarov sentence
New York, December 20, 2011–Today’s ruling by Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Court upholding a life sentence for independent journalist Azimjon Askarov on fabricated charges is a lethal blow to press freedom and justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.
Otunbayeva must put words into action in Askarov case
World leaders like to invoke terms such as press freedom, human rights, and the rule of law in their speeches, especially to international audience. But in post-Soviet Eurasia, such high-minded words are rarely accompanied by genuine action. A recent commentary in The Washington Post by Roza Otunbayeva, president of Kyrgyzstan, is a testament to this…
CPJ Insider: April 2023 edition
French journalist Olivier Dubois released after nearly 2 years of captivity in Mali Olivier Dubois, a French freelancer, went missing on April 8, 2021, in the Malian region of Gao while seeking an interview with the local leader of the Al-Qaeda affiliated group Jamaa Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin. His abduction was made public in a video…
Pegasus spyware revelations are ‘a wake-up call for security on the internet’
Following recent revelations that journalists around the world were potential targets of NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware, the chief executive of WhatsApp, Will Cathcart, spoke to CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “This should be a wake-up call for security on the internet,” Cathcart said. This week CPJ also joined more than 150 human rights groups and…
CPJ Insider: August 2021 edition
Joel Simon speaks “On the Media” In a segment for WNYC’s “On the Media” on July 23, CPJ’s executive director, Joel Simon, spoke to Brooke Gladstone about how this is the deadliest and most dangerous time to be a journalist that he’s ever seen. “There’s a complete transformation of the information environment,” Simon said. “It’s…