-Caveat Lector-
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/HRW/03f3237b830bfb6c67d53a757793ecbd.htm
Uzbekistan: Rights Defenders Targeted After Massacre
09 Jun 2005 14:45:16 GMT
Source: Human Rights Watch
(New York, June 9, 2005)- In the wake of the Andijan massacre, the Uzbek
government is targeting human rights defenders and opposition activists
for arrest, beatings and intimidation, Human Rights Watch said today. "The
government harassment of human rights defenders is a transparent attempt
to hide the truth about what happened in Andijan," said Holly Cartner,
Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
Human Rights Watch has documented evidence of a government cover up in
Andijan following the government's use of excessive force against
demonstrators there on May 13. Human Rights Watch has labeled the incident
a massacre.
The Uzbek government has a longstanding record of harsh treatment of human
rights activists and political opponents. In just the past two weeks,
Uzbek authorities have arrested at least 10 human rights defenders and
opposition activists in Andijan and other cities on trumped up charges.
Others have been beaten by unknown assailants, threatened by local
authorities, and placed under house arrest.
Officials involved in these incidents made specific reference to the
defenders' human rights activities, including their work documenting the
killings in Andijan. In Tashkent and Jizzakh, numerous human rights
activists have been questioned about the events in Andijan and threatened
with arrest or criminal charges should they engage in demonstrations or
other public activities.
On May 31, a coalition of Uzbek rights defenders issued a plea for help.
The group wrote to the United Nations, the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe, and the European Parliament stating that
persecution of Uzbek rights activists and opposition members has increased
since the Andijan killings.
"We are deeply troubled by this growing crackdown on human rights
defenders," Cartner said. "The international community must intervene to
stop this campaign and ensure the safety of human rights activists in
Uzbekistan."
Human Rights Watch has gathered information, including firsthand
testimony, concerning 16 separate incidents of arrests, beatings,
preventative detention and other intimidation of activists and opposition
party members during the past three weeks, including many in Andjian
province.
On Tuesday, June 7, Andijan police detained Hamdam Sulaimonov, deputy
chairman of the Fergana Valley branch of the opposition party Birlik
("Unity"). After searching Sulaimonov's home, police seized his computer.
He was interrogated about the distribution of a statement about the
Andijan events by Birlik party chairman Abdurakhim Polat during a U.S.
Helsinki Commission briefing on Uzbekistan in Washington on May 19.
Sulaimonov was released on bail, but yesterday was summoned for additional
interrogation.
On June 3, police arrested Mizaffarmizo Iskhakov, a longtime human rights
defender and head of the Andijan branch of the human rights group Ezgulik
("Goodness"). Police seized human rights publications and a computer
during a search of Iskhakov's home on June 2. Iskhakov was released on
bail on Monday, but police retained his passport and ordered him not to
leave the city.
On June 2, Andijan police also arrested Nurmukhammad Azizov and Akbar
Oripov of the Andijan branch of Birlik. During searches of the men's
homes, police confiscated human rights publications and computers
containing a copy of the Birlik statement about the events in Andijan.
Azizov and Oripov remain in custody.
On May 28, authorities in Andjian arrested two members of the Markhamat
district branch of Ezgulik: the chairman, Dilmurod Muhiddinov, and
Musozhon Bobozhonov. They also arrested Muhammadqodir Otakhonov, of the
Uzbek branch of the International Human Rights Society. Police seized
human rights materials and copies of the Birlik statement about the events
in Andijan from the men's homes. The men are being charged with
"infringement of the constitutional order," "forming a criminal group,"
and "preparation and distribution of materials containing threats to
public order and security." They remain in custody and are being
questioned without the presence of a lawyer.
Saidjahon Zainabitdinov, an outspoken human rights defender and chairman
of the Andijan human rights group Appelliatsia ("Appeal"), was detained on
May 21. Zainabitdinov's description of the killings in Andijan was widely
reported in the media. He remains in custody.
The government campaign against human rights defenders has also spread to
other Uzbek cities.
On Sunday, June 5, according to the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan
(HRSU), Uzbek security agents arrested Norboy Kholjigitov, a member of the
HRSU, in the village of Bobur near Samarkand on charges of corruption.
Kholijigitov's whereabouts remain unknown.
On June 4, police in Karshi arrested Tulkin Karaev, a human rights
activist and journalist, and sentenced him to 10 days of administrative
arrest. Karaev is one of the few independent Uzbek journalists who has
covered the events in Andijan. The HRSU reported that pretext for the
arrest was provided when an unknown woman accosted Karaev at a bus stop
and then claimed that Karaev had threatened her. Karaev has been denied
contact with his lawyer.
On May 30, two unknown men in civilian clothing beat Sotvoldi Abdullaev of
the Uzbek branch of the International Human Rights Society outside his
house in Tashkent. The assailants had been monitoring the house from a
parked car for several days in attempt to prevent Abdullaev from leaving
his house. Abdullaev suffered a severe concussion as a result of the
beating and was hospitalized.
On May 29, 30 armed policemen beat and detained approximately 17 members
of Ezgulik from the Fergana Valley area who were participating in a
seminar in Tashkent, calling them "Andijani terrorists." The activists
were forcibly transported back to the Fergana Valley. The event's
organizer, Vasila Inoyatova, head of Ezgulik and a senior member of the
Birlik opposition party, was detained by police together with her family.
They were released the next day.
On May 28, Samarkand police arrested Kholiqnazar Ganiyev, head of the
Samarkand province offices of both Ezgulik and the Birlik, on charges of
"hooliganism" and sentenced him to 15 days of administrative arrest. A
group of women, apparently government provocateurs, attacked Ganiyev's
house and then brought charges against him when he asked them to leave.
On May 26, a police official in Jizzakh came to the home of Tatiana
Dovlatova, an activist with the Society for Human Rights and Freedoms of
the Citizens of Uzbekistan, and aggressively demanded that she go with him
to the prosecutor's office. She refused to go unless provided with an
official summons. The official then placed her under armed house arrest
for the day and threatened to send her to a psychiatric hospital if she
attempted to leave.
On May 22, 70 people, including representatives of various government
agencies, forcibly entered the Jizzakh home of Bakhtior Kamroev, chairman
of the Jizzakh province branch of the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan.
The crowd conducted a Soviet-style hate rally against Khamroev right in
his home. They accused him of being a traitor for passing information to
Western organizations, including human rights groups, and of being a
"Wahabbist" and a "terrorist." The authorities also pressured Kamroev to
leave Jizzakh and made threats against his life and against his family.
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