DOCSLIB.ORG

Open Letter to the Meps Who Visited Uzbekistan

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Open Letter to the Meps Who Visited Uzbekistan Open letter to the MEPs who visited Uzbekistan Brussels, 24 April 2007 Dear Members of the European Parliament, As members of the European Parliament Delegation to the EU-Kazakhstan, EU-Kyrgyzstan and EU-Uzbekistan Parliamentary Cooperation Committees, you visited Uzbekistan on the week of 19 March 2007, notably to participate to the 6th session of the EU-Uzbekistan Parliamentary Cooperation Committee. This visit took place in the context of high level discussions on the possible lifting of the EU sanctions taken against Uzbekistan in the aftermath of the tragic events in the city of Andijan - where hundreds of unarmed civilians were killed in May 2005 - and the devising of an EU strategy for Central Asia under the auspices of the German Presidency of the EU. This should have been a unique occasion for your delegation to collectively raise concerns about the situation of human rights in Uzbekistan, and in particular of human rights defenders who remain in prison or are kept in psychiatric hospital for ungrounded reasons, such as: − Umida Niyazova, a freelance journalist and translator for the Human Rights Watch office in Tashkent, who was arrested on 22 January 2007 and who is now facing possible 5 to 15-year imprisonment. − Mutabar Tadjibaeva, the Chairwoman of the human rights organization Fiery Hearts Club and a 2005 Nobel Peace Prize nominee, who was detained on 7 October 2005 when she was scheduled to fly to Ireland to attend an international conference on human rights defenders hosted by Front Line. On 6 March 2006 she was sentenced to eight-year imprisonment and was moved to a psychiatric hospital. Mutabar Tadjibaeva's health has seriously deteriorated and it has been reported that she is being denied appropriate medical attention. − Human rights defender and journalist Jamshid Karimov, President Islam Karimov's own nephew, who is currently detained in the Samarkand psychiatric hospital for his independent reporting on the situation in Uzbekistan? Unfortunately, human rights defenders working at great personal risk within Uzbekistan perceive that your visit to Uzbekistan was driven by the Uzbek authorities, and they now find it difficult to expect concrete action from the EU as they have been informed that, on 22 March, MEPs went shopping and celebrated Navruz in Andijan, a city where a bloodshed took place two years ago. The story circulating inside Uzbekistan is that some MEPs were 'drinking and dancing'. This behaviour has been perceived as an insult to the memory of those who were killed and injured, and to their families. Front Line welcomes the fact that the Delegation met with representatives from the Ezgullik movement, one of the few registered human rights organisations. However, it is regrettable that the delegation did not feel it appropriate to have additional meetings with Uzbek human rights defenders, in particular with any of the human rights organisations that have been denied registration, with human rights defenders who have been imprisoned and tortured, with the families of those imprisoned or forcibly undergoing psychiatric treatment. According to information received, some MEPs even refused to meet with the representatives from Ezgullik. It has also been reported that defenders were put under house arrest during your visit. Respect for human rights is presented as a cornerstone of the EU external policy, but it seems that some Member States, and now some Members of the European Parliament, prefer to put the issue of human rights in Uzbekistan on the back burner, remain silent or even forget about it. Any dialogue or cooperation is welcome provided that it deals honestly with the reality of the human rights situation and is not merely an excuse to do nothing. Given the previous record of the current Uzbek regime, human rights defenders are sceptical about how much can be achieved by “dialogue”. The European Union must insist on concrete measures being put in place before reviewing its position again in May 2007: 1. The release of all human rights defenders and their family members unjustly imprisoned or detained in psychiatric hospitals as a result of their legitimate work for human rights; 2. The legal registration of independent human rights organisations; 3. An independent commission of inquiry into the human rights violations in Andijan in May 2005. Ensuring that human rights defenders are free to conduct their legitimate activities is a basic precondition for any progress on human rights. The reported behaviour of some MEPs in Andijan – although the Delegation Chairwoman had stressed that “the visit to Andijan should be focused on human rights issues” (see minutes of the Delegation meeting of 15 February 2007) – and the short-sighted way it seems the EU is currently re-thinking its relationship with Uzbekistan, send a bad signal to other authoritarian regimes in the region and beyond, who are harassing, intimidating, and putting in detention human rights defenders. Human rights defenders at risk in Uzbekistan are calling on the EU to take appropriate action, and the victims of Andijan still demand justice... Yours faithfully, Vincent Forest Head of EU Office.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Engaging Central Asia
    ENGAGING CENTRAL ASIA ENGAGING CENTRAL ASIA THE EUROPEAN UNION’S NEW STRATEGY IN THE HEART OF EURASIA EDITED BY NEIL J. MELVIN CONTRIBUTORS BHAVNA DAVE MICHAEL DENISON MATTEO FUMAGALLI MICHAEL HALL NARGIS KASSENOVA DANIEL KIMMAGE NEIL J. MELVIN EUGHENIY ZHOVTIS CENTRE FOR EUROPEAN POLICY STUDIES BRUSSELS The Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) is an independent policy research institute based in Brussels. Its mission is to produce sound analytical research leading to constructive solutions to the challenges facing Europe today. The views expressed in this report are those of the authors writing in a personal capacity and do not necessarily reflect those of CEPS or any other institution with which the authors are associated. This study was carried out in the context of the broader work programme of CEPS on European Neighbourhood Policy, which is generously supported by the Compagnia di San Paolo and the Open Society Institute. ISBN-13: 978-92-9079-707-4 © Copyright 2008, Centre for European Policy Studies. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without the prior permission of the Centre for European Policy Studies. Centre for European Policy Studies Place du Congrès 1, B-1000 Brussels Tel: 32 (0) 2 229.39.11 Fax: 32 (0) 2 219.41.51 e-mail: [email protected] internet: http://www.ceps.eu CONTENTS 1. Introduction Neil J. Melvin ................................................................................................. 1 2. Security Challenges in Central Asia: Implications for the EU’s Engagement Strategy Daniel Kimmage............................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Policy Briefing
    Policy Briefing Asia Briefing N°54 Bishkek/Brussels, 6 November 2006 Uzbekistan: Europe’s Sanctions Matter I. OVERVIEW in their production, or to the national budget, but to the regime itself and its key allies, particularly those in the security services. Perhaps motivated by an increasing After the indiscriminate killing of civilians by Uzbek sense of insecurity, the regime has begun looting some security forces in the city of Andijon in 2005, the of its foreign joint-venture partners. Shuttle trading and European Union imposed targeted sanctions on the labour migration to Russia and Kazakhstan are increasingly government of President Islam Karimov. EU leaders threatened economic lifelines for millions of Uzbeks. called for Uzbekistan to allow an international investigation into the massacre, stop show trials and improve its human Rather than take serious measures to improve conditions, rights record. Now a number of EU member states, President Karimov has resorted to scapegoating and principally Germany, are pressing to lift or weaken the cosmetic changes, such as the October 2006 firing of sanctions, as early as this month. The Karimov government Andijon governor Saydullo Begaliyev, whom he has has done nothing to justify such an approach. Normalisation publicly called partially responsible for the previous of relations should come on EU terms, not those of year’s events. On the whole, however, Karimov continues Karimov. Moreover, his dictatorship is looking increasingly to deny that his regime’s policies were in any way at fragile, and serious thought should be given to facing the fault, while the same abuses are unchecked in other consequences of its ultimate collapse, including the impact provinces.
    [Show full text]
  • OMCT ULHR Submission to UPR of Uzbekistan
    World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) Uzbek League for Human Rights (ULHR) Joint submission to the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Uzbekistan 30th Session of the Working Group on the UPR Human Rights Council (May 2018) The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) is an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) that was created in 1985. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. OMCT works for, with and through an international coalition of over 200 NGOs - the SOS-Torture network - fighting torture, summary executions, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, and all other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment in the world. Every year, it also protects more than 600 human rights defenders at risk around the world by alerting the international community about their plight, mobilizing support for them and offering training, material assistance and relocation to safety. 8 rue du Vieux-Billard, PO Box 21, 1211 Geneva 8, Switzerland. Tel: + 41 22 809 49 39. Fax: + 41 22 809 49 29. Email: [email protected] Web: www.omct.org The Uzbek League for Human Rights (ULHR) aims at promoting and protecting human rights and supporting democracy and rule of law in Uzbekistan. Since 2010, the ULHR has been involved in preparing a number of alternative reports to the number of United Nations Treaty Bodies. *** This document is a joint submission of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the Uzbek League for Human Rights (ULHR) to the 30th session of the United Nations (UN) Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Uzbekistan, to be held in May 2018. This report covers key concerns about human rights in Uzbekistan from the country’s second UPR in April 2013 to the present, and is based on extensive documentation by ULHR and OMCT.
    [Show full text]
  • Uzbekistan.Pdf
    January 2008 country summary Uzbekistan The government of Uzbekistan has taken no meaningful action to improve its atrocious human rights record. In 2007 the authorities continued to suppress independent civil society activism and independent religious worship, and to resist investigation of and accountability for the 2005 Andijan massacre. Yet international pressure on the Uzbek government to improve its human rights record saw a steady decline. Uzbekistan is to hold presidential elections on December 23, 2007. The Central Election Commission has approved four candidates, including President Islam Karimov, amid doubts about the legality of his seeking another term: Karimov has already served the maximum two consecutive terms allowed by the constitution and extended his second term by a referendum in 2002 from five to seven years. His current term expired in January 2007. Persecution of Human Rights Defenders and Independent Journalists Uzbekistan continues to hold at least 13 human rights defenders in prison on politically-motivated charges. These activists languish in prison following sham trials, serving lengthy sentences solely because of their legitimate human rights activities. Authorities continue to detain independent journalist Jamshid Karimov in a closed psychiatric ward, where he has been confined since September 2006. Two human rights activists detained in January 2007 on politically-motivated grounds were eventually conditionally released, but only after they “confessed” to their “crimes,” renounced human rights work, and denounced their colleagues. Gulbahor Turaeva, a doctor from Andijan, was arrested on January 14. On April 27 she was convicted for anti-constitutional activities and sentenced to six years’ imprisonment. In a second trial on May 7 she was convicted for slander and fined.
    [Show full text]
  • 2. What Is the Political Abuse of Psychiatry? 7 3
    1! TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Executive Summary 4 2. What is the Political Abuse of Psychiatry? 7 3. Brief Historical Summary 8 4. Political Abuse of Psychiatry in Post-Soviet Times 10 5. Cases of alleged political abuse (June 2012- April 2017) 12 5.1. Crimea (under Russian occupation) 12 1. Ilmi Umerov 12 2. Hizb ut-Tahrir cases 12 1. Kazakhstan 14 1.1. Natalia Ulasik 14 1.2. Zinaida Mukhortova 15 1.3. Alexander Bondarenko 15 1.4. Lyudmila Khromina 15 3. Russia 16 3.1. Ruslan Makarov 16 3.2. Maxim Yefimov 16 3.3. Mikhail Kosenko 16 3.4. Alexei Moroshkin 17 3.5. Maksim Panfilov 18 3.6. Evgeni Berkovich 18 3.7. Stanislav Klykh 18 3.8. Anton Podchasov 19 3.9. A. V. Tsvetkov 19 3.10.Konstantin Zadoya 20 3.11. Nikolai Podgorny 20 3.12.Gleb Astafyev 21 4. Uzbekistan 21 4.1. Jamshid Karimov 21 4.2. Elena Urlaeva 21 2. Conclusions and Recommendations 23 2.1. Conclusions 23 2.2. Recommendations 24 2.2.1. Education 24 2.2.2. Monitoring 24 2! 2.2.3. Protests 25 Bibliography 26 Further reading 28 3! 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Since the disintegration of the Soviet Union there have been repeated reports of a renewed use of psychiatry for political purposes. In particular over the past few years the number of cases has in- creased rapidly, fostering fears that we might be looking at a resumption of political abuse of psy- chiatry as a systematic means of repression. Most of the more recent cases concern the Russian Federation, in particular in occupied Crimea where psychiatry is used as a means of repression against Crimean Tatar activists.
    [Show full text]
  • 3 June 2011 a Report to UN Special Procedures on Violations of Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Media in Turkmenistan A
    3 June 2011 A Report to UN Special Procedures on Violations of Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Media in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan 1 Table of Contents Executive Summary................................................................................................................... 3 In Turkmenistan There Is Still No Freedom Of The Media......................................................... 4 Freedom of Speech in Uzbekistan ............................................................................................ 8 Recommendations..................................................................................................................... 12 2 Executive Summary The human rights situation in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan constitutes a well-known international scandal. Nevertheless, states continue blindly to court the friendship of the Turkmen and Uzbek governments notorious for silencing dissent through torture, show trials and other Stalinist practices which seem to define the word 'totalitarianism’. Among other practices the Uzbek and Turkmen governments use to silence dissent is narrowly constricting the media and arresting those who dare to challenge the status quo through self-expression. Even as laws exist technically in both countries guaranteeing freedom of expression, partners in civil society find that journalists, human rights defenders, writers and broadcasters who challenge the status quo, and religious people or others bearing religious literature and instructional materials, can expect the following
    [Show full text]
  • Uzbekistan by Bruce Pannier
    Uzbekistan by Bruce Pannier Capital: Tashkent Population: 26.0 million GDP/capita: US$2,074 Ethnic Groups: Uzbek (80.0%), Russian (5.5%), Tajik (5.0%), Kazakh (3.0%), Karakalpak (2.5%), Tatar (1.5%), other (2.5%) The economic and social data on this page were taken from the following sources: GDP/capita, Population: Transition Report 2006: Finance in Transition (London, UK: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, 2006). Ethnic Groups: CIA World Fact Book 2007 (Washington, D.C.: Central Intelligence Agency, 2007). Nations in Transit Ratings and Averaged Scores 1999 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Electoral Process 6.50 6.75 6.75 6.75 6.75 6.75 6.75 6.75 Civil Society 6.50 6.50 6.75 6.50 6.50 6.50 7.00 7.00 Independent Media 6.50 6.75 6.75 6.75 6.75 6.75 7.00 7.00 Governance* 6.25 6.00 6.00 6.25 6.25 n/a n/a n/a National Democratic 7.00 Governance n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 6.50 7.00 Local Democratic 6.75 Governance n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 6.25 6.75 Judicial Framework 6.75 and Independence 6.50 6.50 6.50 6.50 6.50 6.25 6.75 Corruption 6.00 6.00 6.00 6.00 6.00 6.00 6.50 6.50 Democracy Score 6.38 6.42 6.46 6.46 6.46 6.43 6.82 6.82 * With the 2005 edition, Freedom House introduced separate analysis and ratings for national democratic governance and local democratic governance to provide readers with more detailed and nuanced analysis of these two important subjects.
    [Show full text]
  • Torture in Detention of Mr. Azamjon Formonov - UZB 002 / 1111 / OBS 131
    Torture in detention of Mr. Azamjon Formonov - UZB 002 / 1111 / OBS 131 Extrait du Worldwide Movement for Human Rights https://www.fidh.org/en/region/europe-central-asia/uzbekistan/Torture-in-detention-of-Mr-Azamjon Torture in detention of Mr. Azamjon Formonov - UZB 002 / 1111 / OBS 131 - [english] - Region - Europe & Central Asia - Uzbekistan - Date de mise en ligne : Tuesday 29 November 2011 Copyright © Worldwide Movement for Human Rights - All rights reserved Copyright © Worldwide Movement for Human Rights Page 1/5 Torture in detention of Mr. Azamjon Formonov - UZB 002 / 1111 / OBS 131 The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), has received new information and requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Uzbekistan. New information: The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the torture of Mr. Azamjon Formonov, Chairman of the Syrdarya regional branch of the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan (HRSU), during his detention in the 64/71 Special Regime Colony, one of the worst prisons of Uzbekistan. According to the information received, on November 16, 2011, Mr. Azamjon Formonov was severely beaten up and tortured because he had refused to write an "explanatory letter", stating that he had never been tortured or beaten during his detention in the colony, that his rights had always been respected and that his health was good. He was tortured during an hour by the Head of the Operations Division of the prison, Mr. Chavkat Vaysnyozov, who tied his hands before kicking him in the back, stomach and head.
    [Show full text]
  • Uzbekistan Face Book
    HUMAN RIGHTS Under Siege WATCH and Working for Justice Human Rights Defenders in Uzbekistan HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH Under Siege and Working for Justice Human Rights Defenders in Uzbekistan Human rights defenders in Uzbekistan face unprecedented government persecution. The international community must intervene forcefully on behalf of Uzbekistan’s embattled civil society if it is to survive. Key facts about civil society activists in Uzbekistan : • At least 13 human rights defenders are currently in prison in Uzbekistan. In the past two years, they have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms on politically motivated charges. Another two were sentenced to six and seven years in prison in spring 2007 and later released on parole. • Jamshid Karimov, an independent journalist, has been held in a closed psychiatric ward since September 2006, while Sanjar Ulmarov, an Uzbek political opposition leader, and other dissidents are in prison. • Dozens of human rights defenders and independent journalists have had to stop their human rights work or flee the country altogether following threats to their lives and freedom and that of their loved ones. • The Uzbek government has registered only two independent domestic human rights organizations. These are the Independent Human Rights Organization of Uzbekistan (registered in 2002) and Ezgulik (registered in 2003). The government’s refusal to register NGOs severely restricts their operation and renders them vulnerable to harassment and abuse. • Uzbek authorities have forced the closure of the offices of numerous international NGOs in Uzbekistan. In 2006 alone, the government closed the offices of Freedom House, Counterpart International, the American Bar Association’s Central East European Law Initiative (now American Bar Association’s Europe and Eurasia Division), Winrock International, and Crosslink Development International.
    [Show full text]
  • Politically Motivation Imprisonment in Uzbekistan
    HUMAN RIGHTS “Until the Very End” Politically Motivated Imprisonment in Uzbekistan WATCH “Until the Very End” Politically Motivated Imprisonment in Uzbekistan Copyright © 2014 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 978-1-62313-1951 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people worldwide. We scrupulously investigate abuses, expose the facts widely, and pressure those with power to respect rights and secure justice. Human Rights Watch is an independent, international organization that works as part of a vibrant movement to uphold human dignity and advance the cause of human rights for all. Human Rights Watch is an international organization with staff in more than 40 countries, and offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Goma, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Nairobi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Tunis, Washington DC, and Zurich. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.hrw.org SEPTEMBER 2014 ISBN: 978-1-62313-1951 “Until the Very End” Politically Motivated Imprisonment in Uzbekistan Map of Prisons in Uzbekistan ........................................................................................................ i Summary ............................................................................................................................................ 1 Key Recommendations .................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Human Rights Watch Concerns on Uzbekistan
    Human Rights Watch Concerns on Uzbekistan Submitted to the UN Human Rights Committee on the occasion of its March 2010 Review of Uzbekistan February 2010 This memorandum provides an overview of Human Rights Watch’s main concerns with respect to the human rights situation in Uzbekistan, submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Committee (“the Committee”) in advance of its March 2010 review of Uzbekistan’s compliance with its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (“the Covenant”). The Uzbek government’s human rights record remains atrocious and has only deteriorated further in the past year. Of urgent concern is the plight of civil society, which remains the target of constant government intimidation and harassment, and the more than a dozen human rights defenders, journalists, and other independent civic and political activists whom the Uzbek government continues to harass and imprison on politically motivated grounds. Authorities in Uzbekistan continue to clamp down on media freedoms and suppress religious worship. There is a deeply entrenched culture of impunity for serious human rights violations, including for torture and ill-treatment, which remain rampant. The judiciary lacks independence, and the weak parliament dominated by pro-government parties does not effectively check executive power. Government-sponsored forced child labor in the cotton sector remains a key human rights concern, despite government claims that it is tackling this issue. Almost five years later, the government continues to deny accountability for the massacre of hundreds of mostly unarmed protesters fleeing a demonstration in the city of Andijan in May 2005. The Uzbek government’s record of cooperation with international institutions, particularly with United Nations mechanisms, remains poor.
    [Show full text]
  • Uzbekistan by Sarah Kendzior
    Uzbekistan by Sarah Kendzior Capital: Tashkent Population: 30.8 million GNI/capita, PPP: US$5,830 Source: World Bank World Development Indicators. Nations in Transit Ratings and Averaged Scores 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 National Democratic 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 Governance Electoral Process 6.75 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 Civil Society 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 Independent Media 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 Local Democratic 6.75 6.75 6.75 6.75 6.75 6.75 6.75 6.75 6.75 6.75 Governance Judicial Framework 6.75 6.75 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 and Independence Corruption 6.50 6.50 6.50 6.75 6.75 6.75 6.75 6.75 6.75 6.75 Democracy Score 6.82 6.86 6.89 6.93 6.93 6.93 6.93 6.93 6.93 6.93 NOTE: The ratings reflect the consensus of Freedom House, its academic advisers, and the author(s) of this report. If consensus cannot be reached, Freedom House is responsible for the final ratings. The ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 7, with 1 representing the highest level of democratic progress and 7 the lowest.
    [Show full text]