Ambassador Donald Lu: “The U.S. Embassy to the Kyrgyz Republic expresses its condolences to the family of human rights activist and journalist Azimzhan Askarov. Mr. Askarov committed his life to the defense of human rights and to the condemnation of violence and torture.
Mr. Askarov is the recipient of the 2011 Homo Homini Award, the 2012 International Press Freedom Award, and the 2014 Human Rights Defender Award. He was serving a life sentence. Even from prison, Mr. Askarov called for reconciliation and understanding between all peoples.”
