Alleged violation of the right to a fair trial in Kyrgyzstan, Committee found no violation as insufficiently substantiated

Facts

The author is a national of Kyrgyzstan who claimed that the state party violated his rights under articles 2 (1); 14 (1), (2), and (3) (d) and (e); 17 (1); and 27 of the Covenant. 

The author is a founder and director of a national TV channel. During 2010, the author was accused of organizing numerous anti-ethnic Uzbek attacks in the country, due to his TV station airing coverage. On 28 October 2011, the Jalal-Abad City Court sentenced the author in absentia to 20 years in prison and ordered the confiscation of his property for separatism, organization of mass disorders and killings, among other charges. The author was not informed of the trial and learned of the verdict through mass media.

All subsequent appeals were denied.

Complaint

The author claimed that the resolution passed by the state party denied him of any prospects of a fair trial and the presumption of innocence, in violation of his rights under article 14. He also alleged that the judgement against him was discriminatory in nature in violation of article 2(1) and 27. The author also claimed that the state party violated his rights under article 17 (1) because his house and business were unlawfully confiscated.

Admissibility

The Committee considered the authors claims under article 2(1) as general obligations which cannot be invoked in and of themselves, and found such claim inadmissible. Further, the Committee considered that the author had not substantiated his claim under article 27, and that the author had not exhausted all domestic remedies for his claim under article 17. 

Merits

The Committee noted that the author has not provided any information indicating how the resolution – a political document – could have affected the criminal proceedings in his case. The Committee concluded that the facts as presented to it by the author did not allow it to find a violation of his rights under article 14 (2). Consequently, the Committee also finds no violation of his right under article 14 (1) of the Covenant.