Jailed Kyrgyz rights activist's paintings shown in Bishkek
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 25 June 2014 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Jailed Kyrgyz rights activist's paintings shown in Bishkek, 25 June 2014, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/53ce2ff08.html [accessed 31 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
June 25, 2014
By RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service
A two-day exhibition of paintings by jailed rights defender Azimjan Askarov has opened in Bishkek.
Askat Dukenbaev, the chief of the rights watchdog Freedom House in Bishkek, told RFE/RL on June 25 that the exhibition "Before and After Imprisonment" is devoted to the international Support of Victims of Torture Day, which is marked on June 26 each year.
Askarov, a Kyrgyz citizen of Uzbek origin, is the leader of the rights group Vozdukh (Air).
He is serving a life sentence for his role in organizing the deadly 2010 clashes between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz in southern Kyrgyzstan and for his involvement in the murder of a policeman during the violence.
More than 450 people, mostly ethnic Uzbeks, were killed in the clashes.
Askarov insists he is innocent and says his conviction is an act of "retaliation" for his human rights activism.
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
