ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- A court in the Kazakh city of Almaty has upheld the verdicts against three men convicted of the murder of Kyrgyz journalist Gennady Pavlyuk in 2009.
Last October, former Kyrgyz security service officer Aldayar Ismankulov was sentenced to 17 years, while Kazakh citizens Almas Igilikov and Shalqar Orazalin were sentenced to 10 and 11 years, respectively.
Pavlyuk, 51, an ethnic Russian and prominent Kyrgyz journalist, died several days after being thrown from a tall building in Almaty in December 2009.
His arms and legs had been bound.
His relatives and colleagues in Kyrgyzstan have alleged that his murder was politically motivated, as he was working with the opposition against then-President Kurmanbek Bakiev and his government.
Lawyers for the three convicts say they will continue their appeal to the Kazakh Supreme Court.