Corruption and COVID-19 in Uzbekistan

Speech by Nadejda Atayeva - the President of the Association for Human Rights in Central Asia, at the conference of the Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL) organization, held on November 17, 2020.

The coronavirus has not bypassed Uzbekistan. According to official data alone, 78801 people were infected, of which 621 people died. These statistics cannot be considered comprehensive and reliable si nce there are strong indications that the real number of deaths is much higher, according to social networks of telegram "Fidorkorlar" there have been reports of at least 539 medical workers who allegedly died from COVID-19 in the country; we know the names of 83 of them. A survey of residents of a residential area in the capital city Tashkent, carried out by human rights activists, showed that 28 funerals were held for people who died from COVID-19 on a recent Saturday. The official statistics do not included cases of people who suffered from pneumonia but were never tested for COVID-19 as well as those who were treated at home. It is not known how many died from COVID-19 at home.

It is dangerous to question the official statistics on COVID-19 in Uzbekistan. On 23 March 2020, the Law "On Amendments and Additions to the Criminal, Criminal Procedure Codes of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Code of Administrative Responsibility of the Republic of Uzbekistan” was adopted. According to the new Article 244-5 of the Criminal Code  punishes, "dissemination of false information about infections that are subject to quarantine or are otherwise dangerous to humans" is punishable by imprisonment of up to 10 years. 

Media outlets in Uzbekistan solely rely on official statistics and government information about COVID-19, describe individual cases and practically avoid the use of any independent information.

COVID-19 has affected not only the health of the people of Uzbekistan, it has also led to restrictions of human rights and not only those related to freedom of movement, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. The social and economic crisis is felt as never before. Its origin is not only a deficit in the national budget, but also corruption at all levels of government.

And the level of corruption will only grow until the authorities change their attitude towards criticism and civil society. Without the participation of civil society activists, it is impossible to ensure transparency and the rule of law. As a result, Uzbekistan has an extremely weak educational system and the teaching profession in public educational facilities has become extremely unpopular. Pensioners in this country are barely surviving.

Public criticism in Uzbekistan should be a crucial resource for the government. Instead, Shavkat Mirziyoyev relies on PR-services to keep his government in power. Tens of millions of US dollars are paid by the authorities of Shavkat Mirziyoyev for publications praising his government and for removing criticism on the Internet directed against him and his family members. Considering this growing process, in which even individual members of the US Congress, former activists of Uzbekistani human rights organizations, trolls and many other players are participating, there is less and less desire to trust the official government information. All the more so when the houses and cars of high-ranking officials of Uzbekistan were clearly not purchased with their salaries. So far none of them transparently declares their incomes, and the same is true for their close relatives.

After the death of dictator Islam Karimov the political regime has changed very little. Independent human rights defenders and journalists practically risk their freedom when they question official information. Many human rights defenders have not been able to register their organizations for more than 30 years. We call them “independent human rights defenders”. Human rights activist Agzam Turgunov spent 15 years in prison, and since February 2018, he has made eight attempts to register a human rights organization and is preparing to apply for registration for the seventh time now.

An official from the Ministry of Justice of Uzbekistan cynically admitted to him that no matter how many attempts he makes, his organization would not be registered and this indicates that he is on the government’s list of "unreliable" people. Turgunov, like many other former political prisoners, has been denied rehabilitation. They are subjected to widespread discrimination. Turgunov continues to be at risk of arrest despite the fact that he is over 70 years old. And such a fate of Agzam Turgunov is not the only case. The only exceptions are former political prisoners who do not criticize the new government in any way.

According to our Association for Human Rights in Central Asia, more than 600 civil society activists have been repressed since 2005. Almost 90 of them were sentenced to imprisonment. The rest emigrated or were forced to become passive observers because they were subjected to threats of torture and arrest or because of their poor health. Only 11 activists from this list are still active in the field of human rights protection. Many of those who were forced to leave Uzbekistan and obtain refugee status abroad, were subsequently deprived of their citizenship under the Shavkat Mirziyoyev government; their property was confiscated on the basis of court decisions handed down in absentia.

The level of corruption in Uzbekistan deserves a lot of attention, and in the context of COVID-19, it is especially clearly seen how the government divides society into friends and foes. This violates the fundamental principle that everyone is equal before the law. This became possible only because many laws were adopted that contradict the country’s Constitution. The failure to legalize independent civil society activities only leads to abuse of office. 

How can you trust such a government?

 

Central Asia: Tightening the screws on government critics during the Covid-19 pandemic

The Central Asian authorities have used the Covid-19 pandemic as a pretext to suppress criticism of

government policies and tighten the screws on independent media, civil society and social media users. A new briefing paper published by International Partnership for Human Rights, Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, the Legal Prosperity Foundation, Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights and the Association for Human Rights in Central Asia highlights the increasing restrictions on the freedoms of expression, association and assembly seen across the region during this time of crisis.

The briefing paper, entitled Central Asia: Tightening the screws on government critics during the Covid-19 pandemic, summarises cross-regional trends of serious concern and details country developments. IPHR and its partners have submitted the briefing paper as input for the upcoming EU-Central Asia Ministerial Meeting, asking the EU to raise the disturbing trends documented in the paper with the Central Asian governments. The Ministerial Meeting, an annual event where high-ranking EU officials and Central Asian foreign ministers discuss different areas of cooperation, is scheduled to take place online on 17 November 2020.

Key trends covered in the briefing paper include:

Failure to ensure access to information and misguided efforts to combat misinformation: The government of Tajikistan initially denied that the global Covid-19 pandemic had reached the country, despite independent reports to the contrary, while the government of Turkmenistan has continued to cover up the evident national outbreak of Covid-19. Also in the other Central Asian countries, independent media and civil society have faced obstacles in accessing information related to the pandemic and across the region, the authorities have engaged in misguided efforts to prevent misinformation about the pandemic. Thus, in the name of combating “false” information, they have adopted and implemented vaguely worded legislation that can be used to stifle legitimate free speech, and obstructed discussion on social media platforms.

Persecution of government critics across the region: In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Central Asian governments have stepped up pressure on journalists, bloggers, civil society activists, human rights defenders, protest participants, opposition supporters and others critical of the authorities and their Covid-19 response. Across the region, government critics have been threatened, questioned, detained, prosecuted and convicted on charges initiated in retaliation for their peaceful exercise of the freedoms of expression, association and assembly, including charges of overly broad criminal offenses such as “spreading false information”, “inciting hostility” and “extremism”. At the same time, the situation of those imprisoned on politically motivated charges is currently of particular concern given the increased risk of contracting Covid-19 that they face and their frequent lack of access to adequate medical diagnosis and treatment.

Restrictive operating environment for civil society and problematic legislative initiatives: Across Central Asia, civic space is seriously limited. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the authorities have pushed ahead with new, problematic legal initiatives without ensuring adequate opportunities for public discussion and meaningful consultation with experts and civil society. In Kazakhstan, the authorities rushed through a new restrictive law on assemblies and have used this law to continue to detain and penalise participants in peaceful anti-government protests held without pre-approval. The most recent version of the draft law on assemblies in Uzbekistan also requires pre-approval of protests, in violation of international standards. A draft law on NGO reporting passed the second reading in parliament in Kyrgyzstan despite widespread criticism and fears that it will be used as a tool of intimidation. The lack of transparency of the processes of drafting new laws on non-commercial organisations in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan has reinforced concerns that these laws will provide for new mechanisms of excessive state control of NGOs. The authorities of Uzbekistan have continued to deny compulsory state registration to independent human rights groups on arbitrary grounds, while no such groups can still operate in Turkmenistan. In recent months, exiled groups have been subjected to renewed cyberattacks, and online smear campaigns have targeted the leaders of NGOs based both in- and outside the region.

The joint briefing paper is available here.