12.3.10

A teacher beat a schoolchild. A child need help!

On April 20, 2009 at school № 10 of Tashkent region, Tashkentskaya oblast, the teacher of geography Kamila Tashmuhammedova beat the 6-grade student Shuaipa Erdonov, born in 1996. The teacher grabbed the child by his shoulders and hit the back of his head against the school board, several times and with all her might. At the same time she insulted him and called “terrorist”.

Shuaipa Erdonov’s
photo before
On April 20, 2009 at school № 10 of Tashkent region, Tashkentskaya oblast, the teacher of geography Kamila Tashmuhammedova beat the 6-grade student Shuaipa Erdonov, born in 1996. According to narration of the victim’s mother, the teacher grabbed the child by his shoulders and hit the back of his head against the school board, several times and with all her might. At the same time she insulted him and called “terrorist” stressing that he was the son of Shuhrat Erdonov, born in 1972, who was sentenced in 1999 to10 years of imprisonment under article 159 of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan and got another 4 years of imprisonment added in 2006. Toward the evening Shuaipa Erdonov had a swelling on his head, his temperature rose and he had nausea. A day later he started to lose sight in both eyes. Soon the child had a nervous muscular twitching (tic) from his right cheek to ear, and he had his lips curved. The medical examination confirmed that previously he had no head injuries and those symptoms. According to information as of February 1, the boy lost sight in one eye, and he had only 20% of sight in the other eye.

The victim’s mother filed a complaint against Tashmuhammedova in the Tashkent city department of internal
Shuaipa Erdonov’s
photo 
after 
affairs. When the teacher learned about complaint, she went to the hospital. Using her corrupt relations, she agreed with doctors, as well as representatives of the law enforcement and judicial bodies. Consequently the results of medical examination were fabricated, from which it followed that the student's mother beat the teacher. However, they never met before filing a complaint.

Officers of the investigating authorities, who dealt with complaint of Shuaipa’s mother, told her to reconcile with Tashmuhammedova. They told her that otherwise her husband’s term of imprisonment would be increased and she would be evicted from mahalla. Under pressure of the district authorities, parents of her husband threw her and her two young sick children including Shuaipa out of house. Erdonova does not have her own house. She has to live with her children at friends’ place.

Because of the threats and moral and psychological pressure Shuaipa Erdonov’s mother was forced to come to “reconciliation”. State bodies had not tried to investigate this case and protect the rights of the child. As a result the victim Shuaipa Erdonov was left without timely and necessary medical care. His mother does not have means for treatment of her sick son.


3.3.10

Statement for Protection of Honor and Dignity of Uzbek People

To: Environmental Justice Foundation - EJF

Slave Nation: report from
the Environmental Justice Foundation
2010
On February 22, 2010, the Environmental Justice Foundation published a new report entitled «Slave Nation» on the continuing practice of forced child labour in Uzbekistan, and the ongoing deception on part of the government of Uzbekistan with regard to this practice. Although this report is extremely valuable and praiseworthy in terms of its content, we consider its title to be highly inappropriate, and indeed an insult to the Uzbek nation. We hereby request, and indeed insist, that the title be changed and that EJF apologize for the poor judgement shown in the original title.
 
EJF has done a great deal of work to protect of the rights of Uzbek children, who are being cruelly exploited by the Uzbek authorities through the cotton campaign. The awful effects of forced child labor led a group of Uzbek activists to start a campaign «For the Abolition of Forced Child Labour in Uzbekistan». This campaign has received a great deal of publicity and outreach and has been supported by thousands of Uzbek citizens.
 
We are grateful to all those who have supported our calls to stop forced child labour in Uzbekistan, and for the work that EJF has done and continues to do in this regard. But we hope that EJF will act as we have suggested in order to show its respect to the feelings of Uzbek people.
 
On behalf of the Coalition:

Nadejda AtayevaPresident of the Association for Human Rights in Central Asie
Centre MBE 140, 16, rue de Docteur Leroy, 72000 LE MANS FRANCE Tel.: +33613414070; Fax: + 33243396640; E-mail:
asiecentrale@neuf.fr

Shahida Tulaganova
Director, Uzbekistan Initiative London
76, Wellington Court, Wellington Road, London NW8 9TD, UK
Tel.: +447809545909; E-mail:
uil@uzbekistaninitiative.com

Jodgor Obid
Project officer of the Association Petition pour l'Asie Centrale
Tel.:+43131682269; E-mail:
jodgor.obid@gmx.at