Uzbekistan: Conscript Asadbek Fayzullayev died in suspicious circumstances

Asadbek Fayzullayev, a 20-year-old conscript, died in July 2021 while doing military service at an army unit near the city of Termez in southern Uzbekistan on the border with Afghanistan. The authorities claim that he drowned in the Amuzang Channel in Termez District, but his parents and the man who prepared Asadbek’s body for burial  saw fractures, injuries and bruises on his body which were ignored in the forensic examination conducted after his death.

Association for Human Rights in Central Asia (AHRCA) and International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) are concerned at allegations that Asadbek Fayzullayev had suffered severe physical abuse before he died and that army officers have covered up the circumstances of his death. The organizations call on the Uzbekistani authorities to promptly open an effective investigation into the circumstances of Asadbek’s death and the origin of his fractures and injuries, exhume his body, conduct a thorough forensic medical examination, and bring to justice anyone suspected of being responsible for his death and for covering up the circumstances of his death.

Asadbek was drafted into the army in March 2021. He served in military unit no. 9221 in Termez. Asadbek told his mother during visits that several officers were subjecting him to beatings and other forms of hazing and urged her to ask an influential person in their home town to intervene.

On 26 July 2021, Asadbek’s mother received an SMS from an officer from his unit, saying that Asadbek had left the unit to fetch water and has not returned. The next day she and Asadbek’s younger brother drove to Termez, which is located some 500 kilometres south of their home city of Djizak. When they arrived, military officers said they had still not found Asadbek and took them to a hotel in the city. The next morning, on 28 July, three guards who had been stationed outside their room during the night, told the mother and her younger son to go with them. Some ten minutes later an officer reportedly called Asadbek’s mother and told her that his body had been found in the Amuzang Channel.

Asadbek’s mother insisted on seeing her son’s body. Some 15 military personnel stood around the body on the bank of the Amuzang Channel and reportedly tried to prevent her from inspecting it closely. Asadbek was wearing trousers, boots and a watch, information which appears to contradict the version of events subsequently issued by the military that Asadbek and a fellow-soldier had gone to collect water and decided to go for a swim to cool off in the summer heat. Asadbek’s mother, a former surgical nurse, saw dried blood coming from his mouth; a rib on his left side that appeared to be broken and pointing upwards; that his jaw was bruised on the right side and appeared to be dislocated. She took photos and a short video – which the organizations issuing this document have seen - before the military men took the body away for the autopsy.

Later, on 28 July, Asadbek’s mother and brother went to Sukhardarya Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Termez to file a complaint and request an investigation into the circumstances of her son’s death. She also informed the prosecutor’s office that Asadbek had been subjected to hazing and beating at the military unit. Subsequently, the family sent petitions to the Military Prosecutor’s Office and to the Prosecutor General’s Office, urging them to investigate the circumstances of Asadbek’s death.

On 28 July, Asadbek’s body was transferred to his home town of Djizak for burial. Asadbek’s father arrived in Djizak on 29 July from Moscow, where he had been working. He told AHRCA that by the time he arrived it was almost impossible to recognize Asadbek. His body had been wrapped in cellophane, although it was over 40 degrees Celsius in Djizak. There are allegations that this was done to speed up decomposition and make Asadbek’s injuries less visible.

The man who prepared the body for burial told Asadbek’s father that he found Asadbek’s left hand had been cut in half; with three fingers broken on his right hand; the back of his head had an open wound and his hands and legs were bruised.

On 24 August, Asadbek’s parents went to the Military Prosecutor’s Office in Termez where they were reportedly shown the autopsy document for the first time which concluded that Asadbek drowned and had alcohol in his blood. There was no reference to the fractures and injuries on his body.

On 30 August, the Termez Military Prosecutor’s Office turned down the family’s request to open an investigation into Asadbek’s death, stating that he had drowned and there was no evidence of a crime. Asadbek’s parents continued lodging complaints and calling for an exhumation, but to no avail.

 

Uzbekistan: Prisoner Kadyr Yusupov transferred to an open prison colony

Association for Human Rights in Central Asia (AHRCA) and International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) welcome the news that the Uzbekistani authorities have finally responded favourably to Kadyr Yusupov’s repeated requests to be moved to an open prison colony. However, we continue to call for his immediate release, in line with the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention’s (UN WGAD)conclusion issued in May 2021. The WGAD found Yusupov’s detention to be arbitrary and called on the authorities to release him immediately, conduct an investigation into the violation of his rights, and provide him with compensation and reparation.

In the morning of 9 December 2021, Kadyr Yusupov was called to the head of Prison Colony No. 4 in the city of Navoi, in southwest Uzbekistan, and told that he would be transferred to a so-called open prison colony, a facility with a less strict prison regime where he can receive an unlimited number of visits. Yusupov was given a few minutes to collect his belongings, then two prison officers accompanied him to the open prison facility (No. 42) in the Zangiata district of Tashkent region.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

In January 2020, the Military Court of Uzbekistan sentenced Kadyr Yusupov, a former diplomat to Austria, the United Kingdom and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, to five and a half years’ imprisonment for treason (Article 157 of the Criminal Code) in a closed trial that fell short of international fair trial standards. The case against Yusupov appears to be based on a statement he made during a psychotic episode in December 2018, when he was being treated by medical personnel following a failed suicide attempt in the Tashkent metro. Whilst in hospital, suffering from brain trauma and clearly confused, Yusupov reportedly said that he had been a spy for the West. Kadyr Yusupov has been detained since December 2018. The former diplomat maintains his innocence.

There are credible allegations that state security officers repeatedly threatened Yusupov in pre-trial detention saying that he, his wife and daughter would be raped unless he confessed to the accusations. Yusupov was also denied essential medication and treatment. He filed complaints about the treatment with relevant government agencies. On 3 June 2019, the Prosecutor General’s Office responded that they did not find any evidence of abuse. There are allegations that the investigation was not conducted thoroughly and impartially. In September and October 2021, Yusupov was reportedly beaten by fellow prisoners in Prison Colony No. 4 in Navoi. On 6 December 2021, Yusupov’s lawyer lodged a new complaint with the Prosecutor General’s Office calling for an investigation into the allegations originating during pre-trial detention and the recent beatings.

On 3 May 2021, the UN WGAD concluded that Yusupov’s detention is arbitrary and called on the authorities of Uzbekistan to release him immediately and provide him with adequate compensation. The working group also raised serious concerns about violations of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules), including the use of prolonged solitary confinement, “deplorable” prison conditions and denial of access to medication and treatment. Other UN bodies and procedures had also raised concern about Yusupov’s case, e.g., the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and the UN Special Rapporteur on health in a joint letter in July 2019, the UN Committee against Torture in its concluding observations adopted in November 2019 and during discussions at the UN Human Rights Committee review in March 2020.

Torture victim Alexander Trofimov still facing criminal charges while his torturers remain at large

Six months after Alexander Trofimov, a 29-year-old father of two, was arrested for theft, the credible allegations that police tortured him in detention have still not been effectively investigated and the alleged perpetrators remain at large. International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) and Association for Human Rights in Central Asia (AHRCA) call on the authorities of Uzbekistan to promptly open an effective investigation into the allegations of torture, bring the perpetrators to justice and present credible evidence to substantiate the allegation of theft or promptly close the criminal case against Trofimov.

“President Mirziyoyev has repeatedly stated that putting a stop to torture is a priority for his government: this case provides the Uzbekistani government with the ideal opportunity to demonstrate that it is serious about this”, said Brigitte Dufour, Director of IPHR. 

On 6 May 2021, Alexander Trofimov was arrested on suspicion of stealing money (Article 169 of the Criminal Code) from a safe belonging to а company in Tashkent. He is believed to have been tortured and ill-treated by police on 6 and 7 May 2021 while being detained at Chilanzar District Police Department (ROVD – Russian acronym) in the capital city of Tashkent without contact with the outside world. Trofimov alleges that four or five police officers kicked him; hit him with truncheons; punched him on the head, body and legs; forced him to do the splits; and took turns to jump on his back while he was handcuffed. Trofimov reportedly begged the officers not to hit him in the head, explaining that he had sustained a skull fracture in 2002. Despite this, RUVD officers reportedly hit him on the site of the injury. Trofimov reported that he subsequently suffered from severe headaches and was unable to sit or move for several days because of severe pain in different parts of his body. 

Two suspects in the same case have confirmed that they witnessed Trofimov being tortured while they were being held at the same detention facility, and that police officers warned they would also be subjected to violence if they did not confess. Police officers reportedly told Trofimov that if he confessed to the theft he would be released, but Trofimov has always maintained his innocence. They also threatened him with violence if he told his lawyer that he had been subjected to abuse. 

Trofimov was only able to meet his lawyer for the first time on 8 May, shortly before the remand hearing. During the hearing the lawyer told the judge that Trofimov had been tortured, showed him photos depicting his injuries, and requested a forensic medical examination. The judge ordered an examination and remanded Trofimov in custody. 

Instead of taking Trofimov to the forensic medical examination shortly after the court hearing, the police officers who were involved in torturing Trofimov reportedly took him to a public health clinic in Chilanzar District. According to Galiya Trofimova, Alexander’s mother, the officers urged the doctors to certify that Trofimov already had bruises on his body when he was arrested. But the doctors refused to provide false evidence. 

The police officers then waited until 10 May – probably in the hope that his injuries would be less visible – before transferring Trofimov to the Main Office of Forensic Medicine of the Ministry of Health for the requested forensic medical examination. Two months later and after several petitions, Galiya Trofimova was able to read the results of the examination at Tashkent City Prosecutor’s Office, but neither she nor the lawyer were able to obtain a copy of the document. According to her, the forensic medical experts only recorded visible injuries – bruises – from torture. They failed to carry out CT or MRI scans to establish whether he had sustained internal injuries. “Police put pressure on the medical forensic experts to ensure that they would not conduct an effective examination fearing that thorough diagnostics would have revealed more than the external bruising”, said Nadejda Atayeva, president of AHRCA. 

After the forensic medical examination police officers again took Trofimov to the public health clinic in Chilanzar District, where doctors conducted an examination and recorded evidence similar to that of the forensic medical doctors. 

On 11 May, Trofimov was taken to the investigation-isolation facility no. 1 in Tashkent (commonly referred to as “Tashtyurma”, Russian for Tashkent prison). There doctors conducted another medical examination, which is a common procedure for new arrivals at the facility. In a letter dated 5 July 2021, the Head of the Prosecutor’s Office of Chilanzar District informed Trofimov’s lawyer that the medical personnel had recorded a large bruise on his left thigh and smaller bruises on his right thigh and his shoulders. They diagnosed that he had a head injury and suffered convulsions, but they did not explain how they came to this conclusion without conducting CT or MRI scans. 

As soon as Galiya Trofimova learnt that her son had been tortured, she sent several complaints to the authorities requesting an investigation, including to the Prosecutor General, the Prosecutor of Chilanzar District and the Ombudsperson for Human Rights of Uzbekistan. 

On 7 June 2021, the Prosecutor General’s Office informed her that it had taken the case “under control”, but it did not open a criminal case. Trofimov’s lawyer has repeatedly urged the Prosecutor General’s Office to open a criminal case into torture or other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment under Article 235 of the Criminal Code, but has not received a reply. In the meantime, Tashkent Prosecutor’s Office has been tasked with conducting a preliminary investigation into the allegations, which was later handed down to the Prosecutor’s Office of Chilanzar District and has not produced any results. 

On 12 August 2021, Alexander Trofimov was conditionally released. Shortly afterwards independent medical doctors took an x-ray of his ribs and found a recent fracture. 3 On 21 November Trofimov and his lawyer met with the investigator of the criminal case against Trofimov for the first time in seven months. They learnt that the charge of “theft” was dropped, and that he had instead been charged with “obtaining or selling stolen property” (Article 171 of the Criminal Code) and “failure to report a crime” (Article 241). 

Galiya Trofimova stated: “My son Alexander denies any involvement in the theft and I am convinced he has nothing to do with it. There’s no evidence to suggest that he knew anything about it.”

Recommendations to the Uzbekistani authorities: 

• Promptly open a criminal case and instigate an effective examination into credible allegations that Alexander Trofimov was tortured and ill-treated after his arrest in May 2021 and that police attempted to fabricate false evidence to escape prosecution, and bring anyone reasonably suspected of being responsible to justice. 

• Ensure that a second forensic medical examination is conducted thoroughly and impartially.

• Present sufficient evidence of Trofimov’s participation in the crimes of which he is accused, or swiftly drop all charges against him. 

• Establish an independent and effective mechanism to receive and investigate allegations of torture and ill-treatment, in line with recommendation 25(b) issued to Uzbekistan by United Nations Human Rights Committee in its March 2020 concluding observations.

NGOs urge the EU to insist on more space for criticism in Central Asia, document key trends ahead of meeting

At the beginning of next week, the European Union (EU) will hold a high-level meeting with the Central Asian governments in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. A coalition of five NGOs urge the EU to use this meeting to insist on concrete measures to address the unrelenting persecution of government critics; the reprehensible practice of politically-motivated prosecution and imprisonment; wide-ranging restrictions on access to information and free speech; and the repressive civil society environment in Central Asia.

The annual EU-Central Asia Ministerial Meeting is scheduled to take place in Dushanbe on 22 November 2021 with the participation of the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Joseph Borrell and the foreign ministers of the Central Asian countries. At the meeting, the EU and the Central Asian governments will discuss different areas of cooperation, including cooperation on promoting human rights, the rule of law and democratic governance.

  

Ahead of the meeting, 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 have prepared a briefing paper documenting current key human rights concerns in the five Central Asian countries, which they urge the EU to raise with its Central Asian partners.

  

The joint NGO briefing paper documents how the Central Asian authorities continue to impose excessive restrictions on fundamental freedoms and implement harsh measures to prevent scrutiny and criticism of state policies as they battle with the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic, economic and social challenges, and renewed security concerns arising from the recent developments in Afghanistan. Major, alarming trends covered in the paper include:

  

Persecution of government critics: Across the region, government critics are subjected to intimidation and harassment ranging from orchestrated online attacks, anonymous threats and surveillance to being summoned, prosecuted and convicted on trumped-up charges.

   

As Kyrgyzstan has taken an increasingly authoritarian turn following last year’s political crisis and President Sadyr Japarov’s rise to power, outspoken activists, journalists and lawyers have faced increased threats and harassment. Those targeted particularly include critics of the new controversial constitution, which significantly increased the president’s powers without providing for adequate checks and balances and reduced the role of parliament, due to be elected this month, more than a year after the cancellation of the results of the previous elections.

  

Despite President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s pledges to promote democratic reform, the October 2021 presidential elections in Uzbekistan featured no genuine competition. Prior to the elections, opposition parties were denied registration and opposition members, bloggers and other government critics faced renewed pressure and harassment. This worrisome development continues after the elections, in which Mirziyoyev, as expected, was re-elected for a second term.

                

Under President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who came to power in 2019, the authorities in Kazakhstan continue to suppress political opposition and crack down on government critics. The authorities have particularly stepped up their campaign against people accused of participating in or supporting opposition movements banned as purportedly ‘’extremist’’, holding them to account for peaceful actions of expression and protest.

   

The authorities of Turkmenistan have targeted dissidents both at home and abroad as part of a widening crackdown unleashed in response to growing expressions of discontent on social media and during protests held by diaspora communities. Any citizen who openly criticises the situation in the closed country, ruled by President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, risks repercussions, as do their relatives.

   

Under the entrenched authoritarian rule of President Emomali Rahmon in Tajikistan, persecution of members of the political opposition is ongoing. Independent journalists, and lawyers continue to be targeted by intimidation and reprisals for their work on politically sensitive issues and cases.

  

Pattern of politically motivated persecution and imprisonment: The ongoing pattern of politically motivated prosecution and imprisonment of activists, journalists and lawyers following unfair trials is of serious concern across the region.

   

In Kazakhstan, a prominent victim of this practice, poet-dissident Aron Atabek was released in October 2021 after spending more than 15 years in prison. His harsh prison experience has taken a heavy toll, leaving him seriously debilitated, and shortly after his release he was hospitalised in intensive care due to Covid-19 related pneumonia. He remains in a critical condition.

   

The authorities of Kyrgyzstan have to date failed to ensure an impartial and effective investigation into last year’s death in prison of human rights defender Azimjan Askarov, and no one has been held accountable for this tragic outcome. Askarov died due to Covid-19 related pneumonia after unjustly spending ten years behind bars. The authorities recently reopened the investigation into his death, but serious concerns about its nature remain.

   

In Tajikistan, lawyer Buzurgmehr Yorov continues to serve a lengthy prison sentence, which was handed down to him in closed and unfair proceedings after he defended high-ranking opposition members in 2015. His co-defendant, lawyer Nuriddin Mahkamov also remains in prison on charges considered politically motivated.

  

In Turkmenistan, journalist Nurgeldy Khalykov was imprisoned last year in retaliation for his cooperation with a Turkmenistan-covering organisation based in exile, while doctor Khursanai Ismatullaeva was prosecuted this summer after seeking help from exile-based human rights groups in her struggle to obtain justice for her unfair dismissal from a medical clinic. The authorities have also sought the return of activists based abroad, putting them at a serious risk of prosecution and imprisonment on trumped-up charges and other rights violations if returned.

  

In Uzbekistan, blogger Miraziz Bazarov is facing trumped-up criminal charges after criticising the lack of transparency in the government’s use of Covid-19 related loans and the double standards amongst officials in relation to LGBTI people. Another blogger, Otabek Sattoriy was imprisoned earlier this year on charges believed to have been fabricated to punish him for speaking out on corruption among local officials.

  

The individuals mentioned above are only a few of those who have been prosecuted and imprisoned on politically motivated charges in the region; there are many other victims of this practice, too.

             

Withholding information of public interest and restricting free speech: The Central Asian authorities continue to prevent access to information on issues of public importance, including public health issues in the context of the global Covid-19 pandemic. This problem has been particularly prevalent in Turkmenistan, whose government has consistently denied and covered up the national Covid-19 outbreak throughout the pandemic. The Tajikistani government has also failed to adopt a transparent approach about the pandemic, claiming victory over it earlier this year and denying the occurrence of new Covid-19 cases for months before being forced to admit that there was a new wave.

The pattern of muzzling independent media continues and the Central Asian authorities use various tactics to obstruct the dissemination and exchange of information critical of those in power on online platforms. The authorities have blocked access to independent news sites, social media and other internet resources and initiated other measures restricting the operation of online resources, using arguments such as national security concerns, personal data considerations, and the protection of children.

 

The Central Asian authorities have also misused the fight against ‘’disinformation” to restrict legitimate free speech on and offline. In Kazakhstan, a pre-existing criminal code provision on “knowingly disseminating false information” has been used to stifle criticism, along with other overly broad criminal charges. In Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, new vaguely worded legislation banning the dissemination of “false’’ information has been enacted with negative implications especially in relation to online discussions. The Turkmenistani authorities consider any information challenging the government narrative “false” and seek to prevent access to such information through internet censorship and intimidation.

  

Repressive civil society environment: The operating environment for civil society organisations remains highly challenging across the region. Excessive state oversight of NGOs is an ongoing problem, and it is of particular concern that legislation setting out financial reporting obligations might be implemented in a way that restricts the legitimate activities of NGOs. For example, ahead of the January 2021 parliamentary elections, leading human rights NGOs in Kazakhstan were threatened with suspension because of alleged minor, technical mistakes made when reporting about foreign grants. The recent adoption of legislation introducing a new financial reporting scheme for NGOs in Kyrgyzstan has prompted concerns that a similar scenario might occur there. The Tajikistani authorities have arbitrarily applied tax legislation to harass independent civil society organisations, requiring them to pay income tax on foreign grants, although this is not provided for by law.

  

Contrary to its commitment to improve the operating space for civil society, the Uzbekistani government continues to deny compulsory state registration to newly established, independent NGOs on technical and unsubstantiated grounds. For example, the NGO Human Rights House was denied registration for the eighth time in August 2021, and the following month a local court refused to review the group’s complaint against the government’s refusal to register it. No independent human rights NGOs are able to operate inside Turkmenistan, and the clandestine contributors of exile-based NGOs work at great risk. Exile-based groups have also been subjected to pressure, including inference with their website operations and social media content takedowns due to government abuse of mechanisms for reporting copyright violations.

  

Across the region, human rights NGOs face widespread mistrust, with arguments about defending national security and so-called traditional values being used by decisionmakers, aggressively-minded activists and online trolls to stigmatise, discredit and intimidate groups advocating for the rights of women, LGBT and other vulnerable groups.

  

More information about these and other current trends in the five countries of the region can be found by downloading the full paper, entitled No space for criticism: Excessive restrictions on fundamental rights in Central Asia.

Uzbekistan: Harassment and intimidation of opposition activists

Association for Human Rights in Central Asia (AHRCA) and International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) are concerned that authorities of Uzbekistan harassed and intimidated Khidirnazar Allakulov (Truth and Progress party / Haqiqat va Taraqqiyot), Mahmud Davronov (Free Motherland party / Ozod Vatan) and Jahongir Otajonov (Erk) and other outspoken opposition activists in the run-up of Presidential elections in October 2021 and that many continue to be at risk and under surveillance. AHRCA and IPHR call on the authorities to stop harassing and intimidating these and other political opposition activists and their families and to allow opposition political parties to register.

        

According to official information, incumbent President Shavkat Mirziyoyev won the presidential elections held in Uzbekistan on 24 October 2021 by more than 80 percent of the vote. As highlighted by international observers, the elections were characterised by the lack of meaningful competition. While only officially registered political parties are allowed to put forward presidential candidates, no genuine opposition parties have succeeded in obtaining registration in the country and therefore were not able to nominate candidates for the elections.

      

International election observers deployed by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights noted in their preliminary findings issued on 25 October that the “lack of genuine competition, combined with the burdensome requirements for party registration, challenge the pluralistic nature of the political environment in which the election is taking place.” They also observed “a virtual absence of critical reporting about higher public officials and candidates […]. The overall restrictive legal framework for media, cases of pre-trial detention, intimidation and harassment of journalists and bloggers and an established practice of blocking websites contributed to self-censorship and further limited the amount of information and analysis available to the public.”

    

In its concluding observations issued in April 2020 the United Nations Human Rights Committee raised concerns about discrepancies between domestic legislation and Uzbekistan’s obligations as a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and called on Uzbekistan to foster “a culture of political pluralism and (refrain) from arbitrarily denying registration to opposition political parties and preventing their participation in elections.”

  

Khidirnazar Allakulov, leader of the opposition party Truth and Progress, harassed and under close surveillance

 

Khidirnazar Allakulov, a former university director in the southern Surkhandarya region and chair of the opposition party Truth and Progress, publicly announced his intention to stand in the presidential elections in autumn 2020. He subsequently reported facing internet trolling, surveillance and other intimidation, including being detained for questioning and physically attacked by unknown perpetrators.

     

In the days before the elections Allakulov’s telephone was cut off, and he reports seeing a device outside his apartment building that he believes jammed telephone and internet connections. There are also allegations that several administrative and civil cases were opened against him, his daughter and his son with the intention to put a stop to his political activism.

    

Allakulov told a journalist from the news outlet Nastoyaschie Vremya on 24 October 2021 that he had been forced to suspend his political activities following pressure against him, his children and grandchildren. More recently, he announced his intention to try again to set up a political party named Equality, Progress and Unity (Haqiqat, Taraqqiyot ba birdamliq).

   

The Ministry of Justice denied registration to the Truth and Progress party because of its alleged failure to gather the number of signatures required by law. However, many of its supporters reported withdrawing their signatures after being threatened with reprisals by state bodies and representatives of makhalla (neighbourhood) committees.

  

Mahmud Davronov, activist of the opposition group Free Motherland, harassed and intimidated

 

Mahmud Davronov, co-chair of the newly founded opposition party Free Motherland and former deputy chair of the opposition Truth and Progress party, has reportedly been subjected to intimidation, surveillance and temporary detention aimed at discouraging him from continuing his political activities.

  

On 26 May 2021, for example, Davronov was detained three times in one day by traffic police and police officials attempted to seize his car, claiming that he had not paid fines, although he maintains that he paid them as soon as they were issued. On 5 June, he was removed from a bus as he travelled to attend a meeting of the Truth and Progress party and held for three hours by police who made veiled threats that he and his relatives would suffer if he continued with his political activism.

      

As the elections approached and Davronov continued his political work, pressure against him intensified. On 9 October Davronov and political activist and blogger Alexei Garshin, met with OSCE representatives to discuss the upcoming elections. On 16 October Davronov gave an interview to Radio Ozodlik, the Uzbekistani branch of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and criticised people in Uzbekistan being deprived of the right to vote in free and fair elections.

   

On 22 October a film crew from the German media outlet Deutsche Welle visited Davronov.

      

Davronov faced multiple repercussions for his activism: a few days before the presidential elections, he learned that he had been banned from leaving the country because of alleged utility debts – in early November 2021 this ban was lifted, but he erroneously remained on the government’s list of people failing to pay their gas and water bills.

 

On 19 October, the head of the Samarkand Gas department (OlbGaz) visited Davronov’s house and told his wife, Zebo Khalilova, who owns the house, that she owed 2,490,000 Uzbek sums (equivalent to approx. 245 EUR) for alleged arrears in payments. Davronov and Khalilova disputed this but Khalilova nevertheless paid the fine, and noticed her husband’s name on the fine, instead of her own. It is believed that this fine from the gas company was an attempt to list Davronov as a debtor, and thus thwart his political aspirations.

  

Also on 19 October, a representative from the Water Services of the city of Samarkand (Gorvodokanal) issued Davronov with another fine for 2,940,000 soums (equivalent to approx. 250 EUR), despite the fact that his name is not on the water bills. Davronov’s wife spoke to the water company who withdrew the fine after admitting there was no outstanding debt. A representative of the water services company admitted that he had signed a pre-prepared form filled in by persons he did not know, but whom he could not refuse.

  

On 20 October, Davronov discovered that his name had been added to the list of debtors on the state database “Portal of interactive public services”, and that he was banned from leaving Uzbekistan.

  

On 21 October, Davronov received a call from a Radio Ozodlik journalist. Davronov told him about the recent harassment and then they agreed on a time later that day for a live interview. Davronov believes that security services were listening in on this conversation because 15 minutes before the interview was supposed to start his phone, internet and electricity were switched off.

   

On 22 October Davronov received two letters from the Administrative Court demanding payment for court fees amounting to 540 000 soms (equivalent to approx. 44 EUR) in relation to the alleged gas and water debts.

   

On 2 November, the database of the Prosecutor General’s Office showed that Davronov has been removed from the list of persons banned from leaving Uzbekistan, but he erroneously remains on the list of debtors who allegedly did not pay their gas and water bills.

   

Jahongir Otojanov, member of the opposition party Erk, prevented from travelling abroad

 

Erk activist Jahongir Otajonov has faced harassment and intimidation by state and non-state actors to dissuade him from engaging in political opposition activities.

  

For example, on 26 May 2021, the day when the longstanding opposition party Erk announced that Jahongir Otajonov, a well-known singer, should run as their presidential candidate, a group of unknown local people broke into his house, shouted insults at him and pelted his house with eggs.

   

Otajonov was summoned to the Ministry of Internal Affairs at least three times in June and July 2021.

   

Reportedly, officials urged him to stop his political activities and threatened him with reprisals against members of his family unless he complied. He subsequently reduced his activities, but continues to be a member of the Erk party.

   

Nevertheless, Jahongir Otajonov reported renewed intimidation: he was barred from leaving the country on 17 October because of the alleged failure to pay child support, an accusation he said was false.

Uzbekistan: Pressure on activists increases prior to presidential elections – Klara Sakarova detained

Association for Human Rights in Central Asia (AHRCA) and International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) are concerned at the recent detention of human rights defender Klara Sakarova, the sister of the late political prisoner Andrey Kubatin, who died on 20 October last year after spending over two and a half years in detention on politically motivated charges. We call on the Uzbekistani authorities to ensure that Klara Sakarova is not subjected to harassment or persecution by the law enforcement officials in relation to her human rights work and to investigate the actions of the police officer who detained and threatened her. We call on them to ensure that independent human rights defenders can carry out their lawful activities during the pre-election period.

The police officer then summoned two witnesses to testify that Klara Sakarova had failed to clean the area in question and accused her of non-compliance with the legal demands of a police officer (Article 194 of the Administrative Code, punishable by by a fine and 15 days’ administrative detention). He instructed Klara to write a statement explaining why she refused to clean the area. Klara managed to ring human rights activist Tatyana Dovlatova, who wrote a Facebook post about the situation, an hour after which Klara was released.

Klara Sakarova perceives her detention as a serious signal. She has been under close surveillance for the last four years, and when she began issuing outspoken appeals to the authorities on her brother’s case, the threats and surveillance intensified.  The pressure additionally increased when she became a founding member of the independent human rights organization Human Rights House, which filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of Justice after the eighth refusal to officially register the NGO. AHRCA has learned that the founders of Human Rights House were included in unofficial State Security Service lists of persons considered ‘’prone to protests, criticism of the authorities and unauthorized rallies’’ and who therefore are held under surveillance.

Background:

Klara Sakarova has fought since the death of her brother for compensation for material and moral harm following her brother’s death and that those responsible be brought to justice.

In a closed court hearing in November 2020, Tashkent Military Court ruled that the sum of compensation due to Andrey Kubatin’s family for his illegal detention was 463,000 soums (equivalent to 45 USD), and approximately the sum that the family had spent on post costs and court fees.  On 25 January 2021 the Uchtepa Interdistrict Court of Tashkent turned down Klara Sakarova’s request for compensation for her brother’s death. On 17 May the same court partially satisfied the request for compensation from Kubatin’s widow and son, awarding them 30 million soums (around 2,900 US dollars). On 17 September 2021 Tashkent City Civil Court ruled on appeal to increase the amount of compensation for moral damage from 30 to 150 million soums. (Equivalent to 14,000 US dollars). This is the first court ruling of its kind in compensation for moral harm in Uzbekistan, where there is no judicial precedent in awarding compensation for physical or moral harm through torture.

Four years ago, on 1 December 2017, Turkologist and academic Andrey Kubatin was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment on trumped up charges after he was found guilty of treason (Article 157 of the Criminal Code) after he allegedly gave copies of rare books from his library to an employee of the Turkish agency for Cooperation and Coordination (TIKA), who wanted to publish a travel guide for Uzbekistan. Kubatin was acquitted in September 2019 and he was released from prison but died on 29 October 2020. A few days before his death, Kubatin told his sister Klara that he had been tortured repeatedly.  

Uzbekistan: Miraziz Bazarov charged with slander in blatant violation of Uzbekistan’s international obligations to respect the right to freedom of expression

Miraziz Bazarov, an outspoken critic of government policies and the human rights situation in Uzbekistan, was officially charged with slander on 27 September 2021, – under Article 139 part 3 point g of the Criminal Code, which is punishable by fines of the equivalent of 10,800 EUR, up to  400 hours community work or three years’ restriction of freedom which could include supervised house arrest or travel restrictions. The defence lawyer will not be allowed to see the official criminal case documents until the 7 or 8 October 2021. Bazarov has been held under house arrest since 29 April 2021.

International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) and Association for Human Rights in Central Asia (AHRCA) believe that the charges are politically-motivated and have been brought to punish the 30-year-old blogger for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression. We urge the authorities of Uzbekistan to swiftly drop the criminal case against Miraziz Bazarov and unconditionally release him.

Bazarov’s blogging

Up until the end of March 2021 Miraziz Bazarov was an active blogger whose social media posts attracted much attention. In 2020 Bazarov criticised the lack of transparency and public control over the government’s use of COVID-19 related loans from  the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). His posts in defence of LGBTI people included criticism of double standards amongst Uzbekistani officials. Many Uzbek supporters of so-called traditional values issued violent threats including death threats against the blogger; none of them has been held accountable for these threats. 

Bazarov’s attackers have not been brought to justice

On 28 March 2021 Bazarov was physically attacked by masked men as he was walking to his girlfriend’s

house in Tashkent. He was admitted to the Republican Clinical Hospital No.1 in Tashkent to receive medical treatment for his injuries and was guarded around the clock. While the authorities claimed that this was done to protect his security, human rights groups believe  that their primary aim was to limit his ability to communicate with the outside world and continue his activities on social media. No mobile phones with internet access were allowed in his hospital room.

On the day of the attack  the police opened an investigation into it under a Criminal Code article that penalises  the infliction of “intentional bodily injury of moderate severity by a group of people” (Article 105, part 2, para. “i” of the Criminal Code). The case was later requalified as “serious intentional bodily injury by a group of people” (Article 104, part 2, para. ”k”). Bazarov’s supporters allege that the investigation is not conducted impartially and effectively. To our knowledge, no one has yet been charged in relation to the attack against Bazarov. 

Bazarov under investigation for “slander” and placed under house arrest 

In the evening of 28 April, Miraziz Bazarov was interrogated by officers of Tashkent City Police and informed that he was suspected of “slander via mass media for selfish or other base motives” under Article 139, part 3g of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan, which, in an amendment to the Criminal Code from 25 June 2020, now foresees a punishment of between 81,000,000 to 135,000,000 Uzbek Som   (equivalent to around 6,490 to 10,800 EUR or 7,600 to 12, 665 US dollars) from 360 to 400 hours community work or restriction of freedom for up to three years. 

After  Bazarov’s discharge from the hospital on 29 April 2021  a local court  immediately sanctioned  his house arrest with strict limitations on his contacts with the outside world. Since that day,  he has not been allowed to leave his house except in a medical emergency; to be in contact with friends, acquaintances or neighbours; to use social media; or to engage in any kind of correspondence. He is only allowed to use a land line phone in exceptional cases to contact his lawyer or the law enforcement agencies or in a medical emergency. 

On 30 April 2021 the Tashkent City Police Department reported on its website that it had received 28 complaints from citizens about Miraziz Bazarov’s social media posts. One of them was a complaint from several school teachers of school No. 110 in the capital’s Mirabad District stating that

Bazarov had “denigrated their honour and dignity” by disseminating a TikTok video where he called on parents not to send their children to the school and stated that “school is the place were elderly female slaves and losers teach children to be slaves and losers”.  At the same time, Bazarov was merely expressing his personal opinion. 

On 8 May 2021 Bazarov a criminal investigation was opened against Bazarov on charges of “slander” in connection with the teachers’ complaints. 

On 27 July the Mirabad District Court of Tashkent extended his period of house arrest until 29 September. Bazarov’s lawyer Sergey Mayorov has twice appealed the decision listing several procedural violations and inconsistencies in the proceedings in this case. In particular, he highlighted that the court had failed to explain why the investigation needed more time to warrant an extension of the blogger’s house arrest. He added that Bazarov had not been interrogated since late April and that investigators had not gathered any evidence to prove or disprove his guilt. Additionally, he stated that the court ruling on house arrest for Bazarov was itself illegal as a prosecutorial order is missing from the case file  and in fact Bazarov should never have been sentenced to house arrest in the first place given the charges he faces.  

On 27 September 2021 Bazarov was officially charged with slander of one of the teachers on the basis of an expert assessment conducted during the investigation. Little is known as yet about the nature of the expert assessment, and will not be known until Bazarov and his defence lawyer are able to see the materials of the criminal case on 7 or 8 October 2021. 

On 28 September 2021 Bazarov’s lawyer Sergey Mayorov said ‘“Despite the fact that there is no convincing evidence against Miraziz Bazarov, the state expert engaged to assess the lawfulness of his social media posts issued a conclusion, the investigator brought the charges, the prosecutor approved them and the judge will hand down the sentence… this is a typical example of the lack of independence of the criminal justice system in Uzbekistan”.’

According to AHRCA’s information, witnesses interrogated as part of the investigation in Bazarov’s case  have been  pressured to testify against him. 

For further information about the case, refer to our previous statements: 

• Uzbekistan: authorities must end reprisals against blogger Miraziz Bazarov for exercising his right to freedom of expression, 28 April 2021 (joint statement by Amnesty International, Freedom House, Freedom Now, Justice for Journalists, Norwegian Helsinki Committee and Reporters without Borders)

• Miraziz Bazarov charged with libel and at risk of attack from non-state actors, 30 April (AHRCA and IPHR)

Uzbekistan: Eighth time lucky?

 

Human Rights House to apply for official registration again

Later in June 2021 Agzam Turgunov, human rights defender and former political prisoner, and his colleagues will submit an application to register their human rights organization for the eighth time since February 2019. The applicants have diligently addressed all concerns raised by the Ministry of Justice and have engaged a lawyer to assist them. Other independent civil society groups have also had multiple applications for registration rejected on spurious grounds.

The government of Uzbekistan publicly claimed in February 2021 that there are over 10,500 civil society organizations in the country, but closer examination of these statistics reveals that the majority of them are in fact organisations that are not independent from the government.

In May 2020 the United Nations Human Rights Committee raised concern at “the small number of independent self-initiated NGOs registered in the State party, the high number of rejections for registration”.

“The authorities of Uzbekistan are clearly dragging their feet and searching for small technicalities to prevent independent human rights organizations from registering. Until such groups are able to register and allowed to monitor and document the human rights situation any talk of reform in Uzbekistan is meaningless,” said Brigitte Dufour, Director of International Partnership for Human Rights.

On 4 March 2021, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev approved the “Concept on Development of Civil Society in 2021-2025” and a Road Map for its implementation, setting out measures to address various issues important to civil society organisations, including the legal framework, partnership with state structures, state support, and civil society oversight of state bodies’ activities. However, the Concept fails to address an issue of central importance for independent civil society groups in Uzbekistan, namely the clarification of procedures and criteria that apply when registering NGOs.

The Ministry of Justice’s grounds for rejecting the applications by Agzam Turgunov and his colleagues were often unclear or unsubstantiated indicating that they were refused on politically motivated grounds. For example, the Ministry stated that the applicants had failed to:

    — Number and stitch the pages of the charter correctly (rejection no. 2 in June 2019, and no. 6 in October 2020. Turgunov and his lawyer refute this and say the charter was presented correctly.

    — Pay a fee for the consideration of the registration documents equivalent to the amount of four minimum wages (rejection no. 2). However, when the founders submitted the documents, the employee of the Ministry of Justice who checked them had told them that everything was in order and assured them that the fee could be paid later and they would be informed in good time.

    — Pay the appropriate fee for registering the organization (rejection no. 3 in August 2019). This time the group paid the fee as advised in the previous rejection, but now the Ministry’s rejection letter pointed out that the fee was higher -12.5 minimum wages – for groups that intend to not only operate within Uzbekistan. There was in fact an error in the Charter as the lawyer’s secretary wrote “in other countries” instead of “in other regions”.

    — State where the group would conduct its activities and name the governing body submitting the application (rejection no. 3). These claims are inaccurate as the documents had been prepared by the lawyer and the Charter referred to NGO branches in four regions of the country.

     — Abide by the Law on non-governmental non-profit organizations1 in connection with the group’s founding meeting, but no details were given (rejection no. 4 in March 2020).

Submit the application in line with online registration procedures in place during the coronavirus pandemic (rejection no. 5 in July 2020). However, details about the procedure were not publicly available and requests by the group for clarification had gone unanswered.

    — Attach the confirmation of payment of the registration fee (rejection no. 6 in October 2020). An employee of the Ministry of Justice had told Turgunov that the receipt of payment was valid for three months and therefore he did not pay a new fee.

    — Meet the requirement of Article 17 “Charter of a non-governmental non-profit organization” of the Law “On non-governmental non-profit organizations”2 which requires NGOs and its sub-divisions to demonstrate the availability of sufficient funds (rejection no. 6). However, the founders of the organization had set up a fund (with donations from founders and supporters) of the amount of an equivalent to 3,000 USD to cover the required costs for two staff and office rent for a year, as required by law.

In the seventh and most recent rejection letter dated 7 January 2021 the Ministry of Justice claimed that Human Rights House had not sufficiently regulated the management of funds by the organization and its sub-divisions, and that it had failed to list its sources of funding. The Ministry’s letter provides no evidence for these conclusions. Agzam Turgunov and lawyer Sergey Mayorov maintain that they provided the requested information in the registration request.

Agzam Turgunov lodged the first three NGO applications under the name “Restoration of Justice” together with further founding members including human rights defenders Dilmurod Saidov, Azam Farmonov and Abdusaid Musayev. After the third refusal to register the group, these founding members left the organization and the others decided to rename the NGO to Human Rights House (or Inson Kukuқlari uyi in Uzbek or Дом прав человека in Russian).

Agzam Turgunov, the head of Human Rights House, and lawyer Sergey Mayorov reported that they met representatives of the Ministry of Justice on several occasions including the Minister of Justice Ruslan Davletov to discuss how to obtain registration.

“Since Shavkat Mirziyoyev became President, I have noticed that the State Security Services are still interested in me, and so I asked the Minister of Justice Ruslan Davletov directly if this interest had influenced the decision to refuse to register the NGO. I found it amusing that he tried to dissuade me from registering and strongly recommended that I join the already registered Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan ‘Ezgulik’, saying that then it would be easier for me to protect human rights, which sounds strange when coming from the Minister of Justice”, Agzam Turgunov stated in January 2021.

After the seventh rejection by the Ministry of Justice, Agzam Turgunov has been searching several months for a guarantor willing to provide office premises – which is a prerequisite for registration. The previous guarantor, who provided a letter of guarantee for all the previous applications, stated that the State Security Services urged him to withdraw his support to Turgunov. Additionally, the founders of Human Rights House reported that each of them was visited by an officer from the State Security Services in order to verify the authenticity of their signatures in the application documents. Agzam Turgunov is also preparing documents to appeal the series of refusals to court, as he is afraid that the Ministry of Justice will again refuse to register.

“We see that public organizations are registered in Uzbekistan on a selective basis and that human rights defenders are still under the control of the special services, just like during the reign of dictator Islam Karimov. The lack of opportunities for the legalization of independent human rights organizations makes us question the authentic nature of the legal reforms announced by President Mirziyoyev in 2017”, notes Nadejda Atayeva, President of the Association for Human Rights in Central Asia (AHRCA).

We call on the Uzbekistani authorities to simplify the registration procedures for independent civil society organizations, to increase the transparency of the process, provide support and advice for citizens trying to register organisations, and welcome a constructively critical dialogue between civil society and the state as a key precondition for achieving meaningful improvement in practice of the human rights situation in the country.