WASHINGTON, April 20, 2020 – The American Bar Association’s Center for Human Rights, in conjunction with the Clooney Foundation for Justice’s TrialWatch initiative, issued a TrialWatch Fairness Report with a grade of “D” after monitoring the Kyrgyzstan government’s prosecution of Gulzhan Pasanova for fatally injuring her husband.
The report found that the trial entailed serious violations of international standards, including:
- the right to call and examine witnesses;
- the right to be presumed innocent;
- the right to an impartial tribunal; and
- the right to be free from discrimination.
Pasanova presented significant, credible evidence that she had been subjected to years of domestic violence at the hands of her husband.
This evidence was ignored, and additional relevant evidence as to her state of mind at the time of the incident was excluded, the report said. She was convicted and sentenced to a nine-year jail term. Her case is proceeding to appeal.
A copy of the ABA’s Center for Human Rights TrialWatch Fairness Report can be read here.
The ABA is the largest voluntary association of lawyers in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law. View our privacy statement online. Follow the latest ABA news at www.americanbar.org/news and on Twitter @ABANews.
The Clooney Foundation for Justice's TrialWatch initiative monitors criminal prosecutions of vulnerable persons around the world. For more information, go to https://cfj.org/project/trialwatch/.