The
warden of
prison 64/1 in Chirchik has repeatedly stated
that the prisoner Murad Djuraev is under special control: there is a red
stripe on his case file.
He was convicted for the fifth time. Seriously ill political prisoner is forced to perform
backbreaking labour.
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Murad
Djuraev was
born in 1952 in the town of Mubarak of Kashkadarya region. He is ethnic
Turkmen, married and has three children. He graduated from the Tashkent
Polytechnic Institute. Between 1989
and 1992 he worked as the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the City
Council of the town of Mubarek. Between 1991-1992 he was a member of Parliament
of Uzbekistan.
He was accused
of conspiring with the leader of the opposition political party "Erk"
Muhammad Salih. According to the authorities, they wanted to organise a violent
seizure of power.
Murad Juraev has
been in prison since 18 September 1994. He was sentenced to imprisonment for five consecutive
times. The first sentence lasted for 9 years, following three terms under Article
221 of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan (Disobedience
to lawful demands of the administration of penal institutions) in total accounting for 9 years. On 4 December 2012 Murad Juraev was
sentenced to three years and 24 days of imprisonment,
again, under Article 221 of the Criminal Code
of Uzbekistan
Murad Djuraev
still rejects any suggestions to apply for a
pardon to Islam Karimov.
* * *
Recently, his
wife Holbika Djuraeva was able to get a long meeting
with him. She was with him on 25-26 April 2013. Holbika Dzhuraeva saw her
husband more exhausted than ever. He has increased nasal catarrh, pomenyay na purulent
discharge from the nose, due to lack
of teeth he has difficulty
of eating, he often suffers from severe stomach ache after
eating. According to doctors, his stomach is not well.
Djuraev has chronic headaches. For the last two months his right arm is going numb. He told
the doctor about it, when he was in Tashkent prison,
before transportation to the Prison
64/1, where he is now serving his sentence. Then
the doctor examined Murad Djuraev
and said that he needs a consultation of narrow
specialist, but the day before escorting it cannot
be done.
Murad Djuraev
works every day, he carries bricks. Physical activity has caused pain in his back, his right
arm acts worse, it almost does not move. Against the background of ill health, he is
constantly under moral pressure. The warden of Prison 64/1 of Chirchik
repeatedly declared Murad Djuraev a “special”
prisoners, whose case file has got the red stripe.
This sort of marking indicates that he is a “malicious
violator of the laws of Uzbekistan.” Therefore,
the rest of the prisoners, especially those who apply
for an amnesty or a pardon, are afraid to
talk to him.
The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Catherine Ashton visited Tashkent on 28 November 2012.
During a meeting with human rights activists she expressed her interest in the position of Murad Djuraev, Mamadali Mahmoudov, Isroil Holdarov and other political
prisoners. Some
of them are under threat of extension of their term of imprisonment under Article 221
of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan, some have already been convicted. She
promised to follow their fate and
do everything she could for their release. Recently, the
U.S. government took interest
in the fate of political prisoners. First person on
the list to be released was Mamadali Mahmoudov. And that gives us a hope for the liberation of the others.
