Country Advice

Uzbekistan – UZB38621 – Treatment of journalists; artists; women – massacre – Mark Weil – Ilkhom Theatre – Umida Ahmedova 30 May 2011

1. Deleted.

2. Please provide information about Mark Weil, including motives behind his murder.

Mark Weil and the Ilkhom Theatre

Mark Weil was the founding director of the independent Ilkhom Theatre in , Uzbekistan and continued as theatre director there until his murder in September 2007.

Weil was born in 1952 in Tashkent to Ukrainian Jewish parents1 and formed the Ilkhom Theatre (‗Ilkhom‘ or ‗the theatre‘) with other students of the Tashkent Theatrical Institute in 1976. The establishment of the Ilkhom Theatre was one of the most important cultural moments in Uzbekistan – at its inception, the theatre was the only theatre in the Soviet Union to operate without state funding.2

After the theatre‘s first tour to Moscow in 1983, Ilkhom was ordered to ―perform only plays approved by the censor‖, in spite of this, the Ilkhom theatre continued to tour and perform new Uzbek works, and Western material. The theatre is well known for staging, ―new authors [and] writers [who had] not [been] passed by the party censor‖ 3 as well as canonical Russian and Western works including those by Alexander Pushkin, Berthold Brecht, William Shakespeare, Edward Albee and John Steinbeck4. Mark Weil was also associated with other well known Uzbek artists, including the exiled writer Hamid Ismailov.5

Despite his death, the Ilkhom continues to represent a free intellectual and artistic space amid ever increasing harassment of journalists and artists (see Question 3 and 5). Indeed, in 2007, the Ilkhom theatre was described as ―a beacon of hope in the darkness of the [current]

1 ‗Mark Weil - Courageous founder of Ilkhom, the Soviet Union‘s first independent theatre company‘ 2007, Times Online, 22 September, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article2507785.ece - Accessed 17 May 2011, Attachment 2 2 Whitlock, W. 2007, ‗Mark Weil - Director who brought independent theatre to Uzbekistan‘, The Guardian newspaper, 10 October, http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2007/oct/10/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries - Accessed 17 May 2011, Attachment 3 3 ‗Mark Weil - Courageous founder of Ilkhom, the Soviet Union‘s first independent theatre company‘ 2007, Times Online, 22 September, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article2507785.ece - Accessed 17 May 2011, Attachment 2 4 Schedule, Ilkhom Theatre homepage, http://www.ilkhom.com/english/repertoire/af - Accessed 25 May 2011; see also, http://www.ilkhom.com/english/repertoire/rept - Accessed 25 May 2011 5 Currently a BBC writer in residence, see ‗About Hamid Ismailov‘ 2010, BBC News online, 23 April, http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/arts/2010/04/100423_hamid_ismailov_biography.shtml - Accessed 30 May 2011, Attachment 4

Page 1 of 16 Karimov regime.‖6 The Guardian Newspaper commented in October 2007 that, ―the Ilkohm remains the only venue for original, uncensored drama in a country where freedom of expression is severely limited.‖7

The Murder of Mark Weil

Mark Weil was beaten and stabbed8 outside his apartment on his way home from the dress rehearsal of Aeschylus‘s tragedy, The Oresteia. Writing for the Guardian Newspaper Monica Whitlock explains, ―it was to have been a triumphal start of a new season, in the bleakest times, and he was thrilled by the production and its exploration of revenge and the rule of law.‖ 9 Weil survived long enough to be taken to hospital, and was able to confirm he had not been robbed, although he could not identify his assailants.10 His death was not reported by mainstream Uzbek media.11

In the absence of any official comment from Uzbek authorities, online international press and commentary have variously speculated about the motivations for his murder. As an article posted at Neweurasia.net commented, ―speculation surrounding Weil‘s death will most likely continue for some time, not least because of reports of newspapers being ordered not to print any material.‖12

Weil‘s death occurred in the context of continued harassment of journalists, artists and human rights defenders in Uzbekistan and in the lead-up to the presidential election in December 2007. As the Political Handbook Online explains:

Despite a two-term limit on the presidency, President Karimov deftly circumvented the constitutional prohibition to seek a third term in office. … [F]acing only token challenges from three other candidates, [President Karimov] easily won reelection on December 23, 2007. …

The United States and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said the elections failed to meet international standards. The Russian-led Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) called the vote legitimate.13

6 ‗Mark Weil - Courageous founder of Ilkhom, the Soviet Union‘s first independent theatre company‘ 2007, Times Online, 22 September, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article2507785.ece - Accessed 17 May 2011, Attachment 2 7 Whitlock, W. 2007, ‗Mark Weil - Director who brought independent theatre to Uzbekistan‘, The Guardian Newspaper, 10 October, http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2007/oct/10/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries - Accessed 17 May 2011, Attachment 3 8 ‗Uzbekistan: The investigation of Mark Weil murder is finished‘ 2009, Ferghana.Ru, 11 August, http://enews.fergananews.com/news.php?id=1456&mode=snews - Accessed 30 May 2011, Attachment 5 9 Whitlock, W. 2007, ‗Mark Weil - Director who brought independent theatre to Uzbekistan‘, The Guardian newspaper, 10 October, http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2007/oct/10/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries - Accessed 17 May 2011, Attachment 3 10 Kisselgoff, A. 2007, ‗Mark Weil, Tashkent Theater Director, Dies at 55‘, New York Times, 8 September, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/08/world/asia/08weil.html - Accessed 30 May 2011, Attachment 6 11 Whitlock, W. 2007, ‗Mark Weil - Director who brought independent theatre to Uzbekistan‘, The Guardian newspaper, 10 October, http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2007/oct/10/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries - Accessed 17 May 2011, Attachment 3 12 CXW (pseudonym) 2007, ‗Speculation fails to drown official silence over Mark Weil‘s death‘, 20 September, newseurasia.net, http://www.neweurasia.net/culture-and-history/speculation-fails-to-drown-official-silence-over- mark-weil%E2%80%99s-death/ - Accessed 25 May 2011, Attachment 7 13 In late 2008, President Karimov reshuffled the positions of several regional governors and replaced the defense minister in what analysts viewed as attempts to consolidate further his power. Political Handbook of the World Online Edition, pp.1591-1598 (2010) Attachment 9

Page 2 of 16 In 2009, three men were convicted of Weil‘s death. The men explained that they were unhappy with Weil‘s representation of the Prophet Mohammed in the Ilkhom production of Imitating the Koran, based on a poem by Alexander Pushkin.14 Combating has been increasingly used by the Karimov government as an excuse for excessive force15 – and was used in the Andijan massacre as the justification for involving the military.

During the investigation of Weil‘s death, the former human rights activist and member of the Union of Independent Journalists, Oleg Sarapulov, was named as a suspect in the case by Tashkent police, and warrants for his arrest were circulated to police stations around the country.16 The news service UzNews.net reported:

The Human Rights Alliance of Uzbekistan also said that the investigation into the murder of Mark Weil was being conducted by the Mirabad district police department with numerous violations of human rights…

Moreover, … since a large number of gays are under the investigation, among whom there are high-ranking government officials, this case has turned into a profitable enterprise for police officers, demanding bribes from some suspects in return for the nondisclosure of their private lives.

As for Oleg Sarapulov, a young man close to the Ilhom [sic] Theatre said that his summons to police [sic] is a routine move because following the murder of Weil almost all Tashkent gays had been questioned by police. Although, he admitted, police for some reasons have not issued ―warrants‖ for others.‖17

3. What is Slander of the Uzbek nation? Has this charge been brought against journalists/overseas Uzbekistan students?

Individuals and organisations who are perceived to be anti-government are often the subject of civil and criminal charges relating to their work.

The harassment, arrest, incarceration, ill-treatment and torture of journalists and human rights activists in Uzbekistan has been a constant feature of President Karimov‘s government (1990 – present). Articles 139 and 140 of the Uzbek Criminal Code set out the crimes of insult and slander. The national prosecuting authority has charged journalists and artists with slander and insult, listing ‗the Uzbek people‘ as the victim. Thus, the phrase ―Slander of the Uzbek nation‖ is not a charge in itself, but an innovative use of a standard criminal code provision mobilised against perceived criticism of the government, or Uzbek culture or tradition. Similar charges have been used against HIV/AIDS activists and activists speaking out against the Andijan massacre.

For instance, Ezgulik, the only registered non-governmental human rights group in Uzbekistan, was sued twice, and was also charged under Articles 139 (libel) and 140 (insult) of the Uzbek Criminal Code for an article commenting on a custody battle over the children

14 Demytrie, R. 2010, ‗ guilty of director murder ‘, BBC News Online, 18 February, http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/8521314.stm- Accessed 30 May 2011, Attachment 8 15 Johnson E. 2007, ‗Islamic Extremism May Spread in Uzbekistan, Crisis Group Says‘, 23 August, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ajnk1Kavy6Dk&refer=europe - Accessed 30 May 2011 – Attachment 18 16 Demytrie, R. 2010, ‗Uzbeks guilty of director murder ‘, BBC News Online, 18 February, http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/8521314.stm - Accessed 30 May 2011, Attachment 8 17 Demytrie, R. 2010, ‗Uzbeks guilty of director murder ‘, BBC News Online, 18 February, http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/8521314.stm - Accessed 30 May 2011, Attachment 8

Page 3 of 16 of a well know Uzbek singer who had apparently committed suicide. The singer was the mistress of Jamshid Matliubov the head of ―Tashkent‘s Yakkasaray District Police Department, and the brother of Bahodyr Matlyubov, Uzbekistan‘s Interior Minister.‖18

Ezgulik and its head Vasila Inoyatova has been continually harassed by police, and is also fighting a series of law suits brought by former members of the organisation. As the news service Eurasianet.org reported, in 2010 the Ezgulik office

was ransacked and equipment stolen; police then later confiscated replacements. … The purpose seems to be to keep the group tied up in self-defense against litigation so that they have little time to become involved in human rights work. 19

Writing for Euroasianet.org, Catherine Fitzpatrick notes,

[the Ezgulik] case is the latest among a series of libel cases launched against journalists and human rights activists by the government, including photographer Umida Akhmedova [or Ahmedova], Voice of America correspondent Abdumalik Boboyev, Russian journalist Vladimir Berezovsky and Surat Ikramov, of the Initiative Group of Independent Human Rights Activists who was also convicted of libel and fined for his statement in 2008 about the [sic] Kadyrjanova‘s death. 20

In 2009, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported that21

―The trial in the libel case against Russian journalist Vladimir Berezovsky, editor of a now-closed website vesti.uz, resumed yesterday as well, ferghana.ru reported. Ambassador Denis Bashirov of the Russian Embassy in Tashkent was not permitted to attend the trial. While the session was ostensibly open to the public, the judge said the Russian diplomat would have to obtain special permission from the Surpeme Court.

After some difficulties, Marat Zakhidov, vice president of the International Human Rights Society, was able to gain admission to the courtroom to monitor the trial.

Berezovsky‘s lawyer unsuccessfully petitioned the judge regarding a procedure under Uzbek law which provides for reconciliation with a plaintiff before trial. The defense tried this maneuver in an effort to force the court to declare who in fact was the injured party in the suit, high-lighting the non-existing concept of ―insult of the Uzbek people‖.‖22

The 2010 US Department of State (USDOS) Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2009 – Uzbekistan reported that authorities have many means at their disposal to supress anti-government expression. Police often use charges of libel and slander accompanied by steep fines to circumvent constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression. While the main targets are high profile people such as journalist and political rights activists USDOS reports that others who criticise the president or the government are also vulnerable to the same

18 Fitzpatrick, C. 2011, ‗Uzbek Human Rights Group Facing Criminal Libel Suit‘, 11 March, Eurasianet.org, http://www.eurasianet.org/node/63053 - Accessed 27 May 2011, Attachment 10 19 Fitzpatrick, C. 2011, ‗Uzbek Human Rights Group Facing Criminal Libel Suit‘, 11 March, Eurasianet.org, http://www.eurasianet.org/node/63053 - Accessed 27 May 2011, Attachment 10 20 Fitzpatrick, C. 2011, ‗Uzbek Human Rights Group Facing Criminal Libel Suit‘, 11 March, Eurasianet.org, http://www.eurasianet.org/node/63053 - Accessed 27 May 2011, Attachment 10 21 ‗Uzbekistan‘ 2009, 2009 prison census, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), http://cpj.org/imprisoned/2009.php - Accessed 27 May 2011, Attachment 11 22 http://www.eurasianet.org/node/62048 - Accessed 27 May 2011

Page 4 of 16 charges. These targets have included poets, students attending international exchange programs, family members protesting against the torture of relatives, and adherents to banned religious groups.23

No further information was located which discussed the incidence of Uzbek students studying overseas being charged with slander.

The treatment of failed asylum seekers is dealt with in Question 5.

4. Please provide information about Ms Umida Ahmedova. Umida Ahmedova is a prominent photographer, human rights advocate, and documentary film-maker from Uzbekistan. After studying photography at the All-Soviet State Institute of Cinematography (ASSIC), Ahmedova graduated in 1986, and became the first female cameraman in Uzbekistan and has produced several movies as cameraman and director.24 She describes her photography as ethnographic photography – as she explained to the policeman interrogating her about her work in 2010, ―[i]n my work I am mainly interested in the ethnographic side of people‘s lifestyle. I photograph ethnic rites, traditions and weddings.‖25

Last year I was arrested because of my human rights work. The national security service confiscated my laptop and came to the conclusion that the information in it contained religious extremist propaganda, and that the materials I had were slanderous and potentially dangerous to public security. What I had were human rights reports, interviews and articles about abuses in Uzbekistan. The document which was considered to be religious extremist propaganda was a report on the Andijan massacre. Andijan is a city in Uzbekistan where there was an uprising in 2005. I was sentenced to 7 years in prison in May 2007, but was released when the government came under a lot of pressure from the human rights community and western governments.26

In February 2010, Ahmedova was charged with ―slander‖ and ―insult‖ of the Uzbek nation27 relating to her photographic exhibition entitled, Women and Men: From Dawn to Dusk, published in 2007, containing 110 photographs reflecting the life and traditions of Uzbeks, and for her two documentary films:

o Women and Men in Customs and Rituals – depicting daily struggles of people in rural Uzbekistan; and

o The Burden of Virginity – criticises the pressure on young women in Uzbekistan to practice abstinence until marriage.28

23 US Department of State 2010, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2009 – Uzbekistan 11 March – Attachment13 24 ‗Uzbekistan: The criminal case has been filed against the photographer and documentary film maker Umida Akhmedova‘ 2009, Fergana News, 17 December, http://enews.fergananews.com/article.php?id=2597 - Accessed 27 May 2011, Attachment 19 25 ‗Uzbekistan: The criminal case has been filed against the photographer and documentary film maker Umida Akhmedova‘ 2009, Fergana News, 17 December, http://enews.fergananews.com/article.php?id=2597 - Accessed 27 May 2011, Attachment 19 26 http://www.awid.org/Library/Human-Rights-Defence-in-Uzbekistan - Accessed 30 May 2011 27 ‗Uzbekistan: The criminal case has been filed against the photographer and documentary film maker Umida Akhmedova‘ 2009, Fergana News, 17 December, http://enews.fergananews.com/article.php?id=2597 - Accessed 27 May 2011, Attachment 19 28 Aspden, R. 2010, ‗Uzbek documentary maker found guilty of slander‘, the Guardian newspaper online, 11 February, Attachment 21

Page 5 of 16 Ahmedova was convicted29, however, the court granted her an amnesty which exempted her from incarceration.30 The Institute for War and Peace Reporting stated that:

[c]ensors and experts agreed that the material contained ―unscientific, unfounded and inappropriate commentaries containing a hidden subtext intended to discredit the principles and customs of the [Uzbek] nation‖.31

The projects, Women and Men: From Dawn to Dusk and The Burden of Virginity were funded by the Swiss Embassy Gender Program. Human Rights Watch “has received information that other artists whose projects were funded by the Swiss Embassy Gender Program have also come under investigation by the authorities.”32

5. Please provide information about life for women, journalists, artists in Uzbekistan, and citizens returning there.

Uzbekistan attained independence from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1991. The from 1990, and the man who led the country to independence the following year, continues to hold the office of President. Karimov‘s regime has been characterised by severe restrictions on freedom of both artistic and political expression.33 At independence, the Political Handbook of the World described the structure of Uzbekistan politics as ―effectively a one-party state.‖34

Campaigning against the Akhmedova‘s conviction in 2010, Amnesty International issued a strident criticism of the Karimov government:

Amnesty International remains gravely concerned about the deterioration of respect for the freedom of expression in Uzbekistan as well as the continued targeting of human rights defenders, civil society activists, political opposition activists and independent journalists. These measures have created a climate of fear among civil society. At least four people were sentenced to long prison sentences in 2009 after

29 Aspden, R. 2010, ‗Uzbek documentary maker found guilty of slander‘, the Guardian newspaper online, 11 February, Attachment 21 30 Steciw, K. 2010, ‗Uzbek Photojournalist Umida Akhmedova Found Guilty of Libel‘, 22 February, http://thephotographypost.com/blogs/post/kate/uzbek-photojournalist-umida-akhmedova-found-guilty-of-libel-274 - Accessed 30 May 2011, Attachment 22 31 ‗Uzbek Authorities Move Against Top Photographer‘ 2010, Institute of War and Peace Reporting, 2 February, http://iwpr.net/report-news/uzbek-authorities-move-against-top-photographer - Accessed 30 May 2011, Attachment 23 32 ‗Uzbekistan: Slander Conviction a Dangerous Assault on Artists‘ 2010, Human Rights Watch online, 12 February, http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/01/27/uzbekistan-drop-slander-charge-against-photographer - Accessed 30 May 2011, Attachment 24 33 ‗Uzbekistan: Slander Conviction a Dangerous Assault on Artists‘ 2010, Human Rights Watch online, 12 February, http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/01/27/uzbekistan-drop-slander-charge-against-photographer - Accessed 30 May 2011, Attachment 24 34 ‗Uzbekistan‘ 2010, Political Handbook of the World Online Edition CQ Press Electronic Library - originally published in Political Handbook of the World 2010, edited by Arthur S. Banks, Thomas C. Muller, Overstreet, W. & Isacoff, J. Washington: CQ Press, 2010, http://library.cqpress.com/phw/phw2010_Uzbekistan - accessed June 4, 2010, Attachment 25

Page 6 of 16 unfair trials and others have faced short-term detention, beatings and accusations of harming the reputation of the country. 35

As Country Advice 37850 (November 2010) reports, police (also called ‗militia‘) often use charges of libel and slander accompanied by steep fines to circumvent constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression. Police have also frequently made arbitrary arrests, used torture, and subjected citizens to extended pre-trial detentions to suppress any criticism. An extensive neighbourhood committee system operates in coordination with police to report unsanctioned activities.

The Advice goes on to report that Uzbek police are corrupt and commonly solicit bribes. Uzbekistan is one of the most corrupt nations in the world, suffering from systemic corruption problems present in most facets of society.

The 2010 US Department of State (USDOS) Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2009 – Uzbekistan reported that freedom of expression in Uzbekistan is ‗severely restricted‘ and several sources indicate that authorities have many means at their disposal to supress anti-government expression. Police, commonly referred to as militia, often use charges of libel and slander accompanied by steep fines to circumvent constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression. While the main targets are high profile people such as journalist and political rights activists USDOS reports that others who criticise the president or the government are also vulnerable to the same charges. These targets have included poets, students attending international exchange programs, family members protesting against the torture of relatives, and adherents to banned religious groups.36

Authorities have also subjected individuals to more significant harms than charges of slander and fines. A 2007 US Library of Congress report, with information that is still current, states: ‗Police and security troops have the legal right to arrest individuals without a warrant. Arbitrary arrest, torture, and extended pre-trial detention are common.‘37 The report further states:

The police forces reportedly are corrupt (particularly the tax and traffic police), and the level of public trust in them is very low. According to human rights organizations, both NSS [National Security Service] and regular police use arbitrary arrest, intimidation, and violent tactics. At the community level, civilian police organizations of the mahallas aid the local police in crime prevention and deterrence of antigovernment activity.38

A January 2010 Expert Working Group submission to the UN Committee on Human Rights, suggests that the militia in Uzbekistan act with impunity and use inhuman methods to achieve results. The report suggests that heavy handed police tactics, including torture, may even be permissible under local law. The report states that the definition of torture in Article 235 of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan suggests that torture or similar ill-treatment can be

35 ‗Uzbekistan: Artist facing charges of slander and insult‘ 2010, Amnesty International, 8 February, http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/EUR62/002/2010/en/b8cd033d-a373-4b9c-965e- d743d732c8e7/eur620022010en.html - Accessed 30 May 2011, Attachment 12 36 US Department of State 2010, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2009 – Uzbekistan 11 March – Attachment 13 37 US Library of Congress – Federal Research Division 2007, Country Profile - Uzbekistan, February, p. 19 http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Uzbekistan.pdf - Accessed 9 December 2010 – Attachment 14 38 US Library of Congress 2007, Federal Research Division 2007, Country Profile – Uzbekistan February, p. 18 http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Uzbekistan.pdf - Accessed 9 December 2010 – Attachment 14

Page 7 of 16 inflicted only on ―a suspect, accused person, witness, victim or other party to criminal proceedings, or on a convict serving sentence, or on close relatives of the above‖. On another hand, articles 1 and 4 of the Convention state that torture or similar ill-treatment may be inflicted on any person, which refers not only to persons involved in the criminal justice procedure. 39

The report also states that ―impunity for the perpetrators of torture is as systematic as the torture itself.‖ The report found that police investigating people suspected of committing ―politically-motivated‖ crimes or loosely defined crimes against the state are often held without contact with families or lawyers and may be subjected to a wide variety of torture and ill-treatment while in custody.40

Women: Muslim women in prison report very poor conditions, and are not able to freely practice their religion.41

Women in Uzbekistan are the targets of a ―mass sterilisation‖ campaign instituted by the President Islam Karimov. As the Times Newspaper reported in 2010:

According to human rights groups, tens of thousands of young women … have been sterilised without their consent in the authoritarian former Soviet state of Uzbekistan.

Uzbek sources say the measure was ordered by Islam Karimov, the president, who has ruled with an iron fist for 20 years. The policy is aimed at keeping down the country‘s poor population — with 28m people, it is ‘s most densely populated state.

Activists say mass sterilisation began in 2003, but was eased after two years following an outcry. It is said to have restarted in February this year, when the health ministry ordered doctors to recommend sterilisation as an ―effective contraceptive‖. Critics claim every doctor was told to persuade ―at least two women‖ a month to have the procedure. Doctors who failed faced reprisals and fines.

―We estimate that since February, about 5,000 women have been sterilised without consent,‖ said a local human rights campaigner who fears detention if she is named.

In many cases, doctors opt for delivery by caesarean section and then perform a sterilisation without telling the woman. Widespread rumours of the practice have resulted in women opting for home births to avoid the risk.42

39 Ismoilov, S. 2010, Uzbekistan, Expert Working Group Submission to the 98th Session of the UN Committee on Human Rights, January, p.7 http://www.ecoi.net/file_upload/470_1273654598_expertworkinggroup- uzbekistan98.pdf - Accessed 9 December 2010 – Attachment 16 40 Ismoilov, S. 2010, Uzbekistan, Expert Working Group Submission to the 98th Session of the UN Committee on Human Rights, January, p.7 http://www.ecoi.net/file_upload/470_1273654598_expertworkinggroup- uzbekistan98.pdf - Accessed 9 December 2010 – Attachment 16 41 International Secretariat 2003, ‗Uzbekistan: violence against women in prison‘, World Organisation Against Torture, 31 July, http://www.omct.org/violence-against-women/urgent-interventions/uzbekistan/2003/08/d16405/ - Accessed 30 May 2011, Attachment 15 42 Franchetti , M. 2010, ‗Doctors sterilise Uzbek women by stealth‘, The Sunday Times, 25 April, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article7107200.ece - Accessed 30 May 2011, Attachment 26

Page 8 of 16 Journalists and artists: Reporting on Akhmedova‘s case, the photojournalist blog, PhotographyPost commented that,

Akhmedova was luckier than many journalists in Uzbekistan—seven are currently in jail for their work, including the president‘s own nephew, Dzhamshid Karimov, a freelance journalist who was forced into a psychiatric facility in Samarkand in September 2006. Authorities have disclosed neither a court order nor a medical diagnosis, according to CPJ. Karimov remains without access to a lawyer, family or friends.43

The ―civic activist, poet, and prominent government critic‖ Yusuf Jumaev (also Yusuf Juma) has been arrested twice – once before the December 2007 presidential election, just weeks after Mark Weil‘s murder, ―after he called for President Islam Karimov to resign‖44; and again in April 2008, ―following a conviction on politically motivated charges‖ 45. Human Rights Watch reported that Jumaev had also ―written poems and staged protests about the 2005 government massacre of largely peaceful protestors in Andijan, as well as about government oppression and the arrest of his son.‖ 46 The news service Eurasianet.org reported that,

Juma explores ―controversial themes like destruction of the environment and the government‘s oppressive rule. After writing some poems about the Andijan massacre and staging some protests about these events as well as the arrest of his son, he himself was arrested in 2007 and sentenced to five years of prison on charges of insulting government officials, resisting government representatives, and assault. His lawyers and human rights groups said the case was fabricated in retaliation for his civic activism.‖47

Returnees and Failed Asylum Seekers: Country Advice 37850 (November 2010) also provides information regarding the treatment of failed asylum seekers returning to Uzbekistan. Several human rights organisations have warned that failed asylum seeking to return to Uzbekistan face dangers including harassment, detention, false charges at trials, imprisonment, and possibly torture. There is also information indicating that the government sometimes exerts pressures on families of asylum seekers and other governments to force the return of asylum seekers, most likely to face charges from authorities. The suppression of media reporting in Uzbekistan has likely prevented documentation of individual cases, however, the general assessment of the poor situation of human rights in Uzbekistan by the international community indicates it is likely that returnees could be ill-treated by authorities.

Human Rights Watch, in the May 2008 special report Saving its Secrets, describes the very poor treatment of failed asylum seekers and voluntary returnees connected to the Andijan massacre. While the report is focused on this particular event, it illustrates that Uzbekistan authorities have used pressure on families to force individuals to return, they have arbitrarily

43 Steciw, K. 2010, ‗Uzbek Photojournalist Umida Akhmedova Found Guilty of Libel‘, 22 February, http://thephotographypost.com/blogs/post/kate/uzbek-photojournalist-umida-akhmedova-found-guilty-of-libel-274 - Accessed 30 May 2011, Attachment 22 44 Human Rights Watch, Uzbekistan: Dissident Freed but Unjust Conviction Intact, 20 May 2011, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4ddb88572.html - Accessed 30 May 2011, Attachment 27 45 Human Rights Watch, Uzbekistan: Dissident Freed but Unjust Conviction Intact, 20 May 2011, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4ddb88572.html - Accessed 30 May 2011, Attachment 27 46 Human Rights Watch, Uzbekistan: Dissident Freed but Unjust Conviction Intact, 20 May 2011, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4ddb88572.html - Accessed 30 May 2011, Attachment 27 47 Fitzpatrick, C. 2011, ‗Uzbek Poet Released from Prison‘, Eurasia.net, 19 May, http://www.eurasianet.org/node/63523 - Accessed 30 May 2011, Attachment 28

Page 9 of 16 arrested and harassed returnees, conducted repeated interrogations, and forced some to sign false confessions.48

An Uzbekistan human rights media organisation, Uznews, operating outside Uzbekistan, has lobbied extensively on behalf of Uzbeks who are denied asylum and facing forcible repatriation, warning that the failed asylum seekers face certain harm from authorities. Several reports and recent appeals on their website have been directed toward recent Polish and Swedish decisions to deport failed asylum seekers back to Uzbekistan.49

In 2008, Amnesty International (AI) issued a public appeal to the international community to protect 24 Uzbekistanis from being forcibly returned to Uzbekistan. While the circumstances of the 24 Uzbekistanis were unusual, in that they had lived outside Uzbekistan for several years before being forced to return, AI reported that a review of human rights in Uzbekistan revealed a general threat to any returnees suspected of committing crimes against the Uzbekistan government. As such, AI assessed that the returnees may face unacceptable treatment and harm if they were returned. AI warned that the Uzbekistan citizens may face detention, torture, unfair trials, and degrading conditions. 50 The AI appeal stated:

When reviewing the human rights situation in Uzbekistan the UN Committee against Torture concluded in November 2007 that torture was widespread and systematic. Amnesty International has documented numerous cases of forcible returns of asylum-seekers or criminal suspects to Uzbekistan over the years. Most of those forcibly returned have been held in incommunicado detention, thereby increasing their risk of being tortured or otherwise ill-treated. They have often been sentenced to long prison terms in cruel, inhuman and degrading conditions following an unfair trial with evidence based on confessions extracted under torture.

In April 2008, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the extradition of 12 mandate refugees from to Uzbekistan ―would give rise to a violation of Article 3 (prohibition of torture) as they would face a serious risk of being subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment there.‖51

Both AI and other sources have reported on the case of Uzbekistan Dilorom Abdukadirova, who successfully sought asylum in Australia in 2005 following the government crackdown and massacre of demonstrators in Andizhan. Ms. Abdukadirova, who was at Andijan in 2005, fled the country without her husband and children. After obtaining assurances from the government that she would not be harmed, she travelled back to Uzbekistan January 2010 to

48 Human Rights Watch 2008, Saving its Secrets, May, p.2 http://www.hrw.org/en/node/62222/section/1 - Accessed 9 December 2010 – Attachment 29 49 ‗Activists to protest against Swedish denial of refuge for five Uzbeks‘ 2010, Uznews.net website, 28 May http://www.uznews.net/news_single.php?lng=en&cid=3&nid=13945 - Accessed 9 December 2010 – Attachment 30 & ‗Rallies in OSCE capitals to protest Astana‘s plans to deport Uzbek asylum seekers‘ 2010, Uznews website, 30 November http://www.uznews.net/news_single.php?lng=en&cid=3&nid=15787 - Accessed 9 December 2010 – Attachment 31 & ‗OSCE urged to stop deportation of asylum seekers to Uzbekistan‘ 2010, Uznews.net website, 7 October http://www.uznews.net/news_single.php?lng=en&cid=3&nid=15059 - Accessed 9 December 2010 – Attachment 32 50‗Iran/Uzbekistan/Turkey: Amnesty International - Urgent Action: Ua 263/08: Forcible Return/Fear for Safety: 24 Uzbekistani nationals deported from Turkey to Iran, 2008, Amnesty International, 17 September. (CISNET Uzbekistan CX210630) 51‗Iran/Uzbekistan/Turkey: Amnesty International - Urgent Action: Ua 263/08: Forcible Return/Fear for Safety: 24 Uzbekistani nationals deported from Turkey to Iran, 2008, Amnesty International, 17 September. (CISNET Uzbekistan CX210630)

Page 10 of 16 visit her family. She was immediately detained for four days upon arrival and then released. In March 2010 she was again detained and kept incommunicado for two weeks and released. In April she was put on trial on ‗anti-constitutional charges as well as illegal exit and entry to Uzbekistan for her participation in the Andizhan [Andijan] events‘. She was subsequently sentenced to ten years and two months in prison on 30 April.52

6. Please provide information about the Andijan story (and Uzbek soldiers).

The ‗Andijan story‘ refers to an incident on 13 May 2005 where Uzbek soldiers shot and killed hundreds of unarmed protestors who had gathered in the town square of the eastern Uzbek city of Andijan to protest government repression. The protest followed the unjust arrests and detention of 23 local businessmen. The Uzbek government claimed the businessmen were involved in Islamic extremist groups and that the group which had liberated businessmen from the police station were involved in an attempted coup. However, the Political Handbook Online described the incident as a:

mass protest against civil rights abuses and widespread poverty that ended with troops reportedly firing indiscriminately into crowds of mostly unarmed civilians numbering in the low thousands.53

In their comprehensive reporting on the massacre, Human Rights Watch describe the events leading up to and following the event:

On the night of May 12-13, 2005, gunmen attacked several government buildings in Andijan, broke into the city prison to release twenty-three local businessmen who were on trial for ―religious extremism,‖ and in the early hours of May 13 began to mobilize people to attend a protest on the city‘s Bobur Square. Gradually, thousands of unarmed protesters gathered on the square of their own will to vent grievances about poverty and government repression. As the day went on, Uzbek security forces indiscriminately shot into the crowd from armored personnel carriers (APCs) and sniper positions above the square. Towards the evening, government troops blocked off the square and then, without warning, opened fire, killing and wounding unarmed civilians. People fled the square in several groups, the first group using as a numerous hostages seized earlier in the day. As they tried to escape, hundreds of people were shot by snipers or mowed down by troops firing from APCs. After the peak of the carnage, government forces swept through the area and executed some of the wounded where they lay. Many of those who managed to escape fled to neighboring .54

As Human Rights Watch noted:

52 Amnesty International 2010, ‗EU must put pressure on Uzbekistan over Andizhan killings‘, 11 May http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/eu-must-put-pressure-uzbekistan-over-andizhan-killings-2010-05-12 - Accessed 9 December 2010 – Attachment 34 & Suleymanov, M. 2010, ‗Suppressed media erase memory of Andijan massacre‘ Committee to Protect Journalists website (Blog), 13 May http://cpj.org/blog/2010/05/uzbek-media- devastated-in-wake-of-andijan-massacre.php#more - Accessed 9 December 2010 – Attachment 35. 53 Political Handbook of the World Online Edition, pp.1591-1598 (2010): Attachment 9 54 ‗The Andijan Massacre: One Year Later, Still No Justice‘ 2006, Human Rights Watch, 11 May, http://www.hrw.org/legacy/backgrounder/eca/uzbekistan0506/1.htm#_Toc134868084 - Accessed 30 May 2011 - Attachment 38

Page 11 of 16 thousands of people gathered on the square of their own accord to vent grievances about poverty and government repression. Although a small group of gunmen were on the square, the overwhelming majority of demonstrators were unarmed. 55

Estimates of the number of casualties vary – the Uzbek government reported 187 civilian deaths56, whereas Human Rights Watch estimates ―hundreds‖ of protestors were killed by Uzbek soldiers57. Although exact figures are not available, the consensus of independent international reporting is that, as Human Rights Watch note, ―[t]he scale of this killing was so extensive, and its nature was so indiscriminate and disproportionate, that it can best be described as a massacre.‖58

Human Rights Watch complied 50 interviews conducted with witnesses and survivors of the Andijan massacre. These accounts describe the excessive force used by Uzbek soldiers against the protestors:

According to numerous witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch, there were many instances on May 13 when government troops on armored personnel carriers and military trucks, as well as snipers, fired indiscriminately into a crowd in which the overwhelming majority of people-numbering in the thousands-were unarmed. While some testimony indicates that, in one shooting incident, security forces first shot into the air, in all other incidents no warnings were given, and no other means of crowd control were attempted.

After troops sealed off the area surrounding the square, they continued to fire from various directions as the protesters attempted to flee. One group of fleeing protesters was literally mowed down by government gunfire.59

The Uzbek government blamed terrorists and Islamic extremists associated with the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) and Hizb-ut-Tahrir.60

Information published by the US Department of State61, Reporters Without Borders62 and Human Rights Watch63 in 2010 indicates that the Uzbek authorities continue to be interested in individuals whom they believe participated in the demonstration or who may know the

55 ‗Uzbekistan: 6 Years On, No Justice for Andijan Victims‘, 2011, Human Rights Watch, 11 May, http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/05/11/uzbekistan-6-years-no-justice-andijan-victims - Accessed 30 May 2011, Attachment 39 56 Political Handbook of the World Online Edition, pp.1591-1598 (2010): Attachment 9 57 ‗Uzbekistan: 6 Years On, No Justice for Andijan Victims‘, 2011, Human Rights Watch, 11 May, http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/05/11/uzbekistan-6-years-no-justice-andijan-victims - Accessed 30 May 2011, Attachment 39 58 http://www.hrw.org/reports/2005/uzbekistan0605/2.htm#_Toc105632740 - Accessed 27 May 2011 59 ‗The Andijan Massacre: One Year Later, Still No Justice‘ 2006, Human Rights Watch, 11 May, http://www.hrw.org/legacy/backgrounder/eca/uzbekistan0506/1.htm#_Toc134868084 - Accessed 30 May 2011, http://www.hrw.org/reports/2005/uzbekistan0605/2.htm#_Toc105632740 - Accessed 30 May 2011, Attachment 38 60 ‗Uzbekistan: The Andijon Uprising‘ 2005, International Crisis Group, Asia Briefing No. 38, 25 May, http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/asia/central- asia/uzbekistan/b038_uzbekistan___the_andijon_uprising_.ashx - Accessed 30 May 2011 Attachment 37 61 US Department of State 2010, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2009 – Uzbekistan, 11 March http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/sca/136096.htm - Accessed 7 July 2010 – Attachment 13 62 Reporters Without 2010, Country Report - Uzbekistan , 6 January http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4b7aa99cc.html - Accessed 13 July 2010; Reporters Without Borders 2009, EU wants to forget Andijan crackdown but journalists still targeted by police paranoia, 28 October http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4af7e032c.html - Accessed 13 July 2010 63 Human Rights Watch 2010, World Report – Uzbekistan, 20 January http://www.hrw.org/en/node/87620 - Accessed 7 July 2010.

Page 12 of 16 truth about what occurred. As Human Rights Watch notes, five years later, people who simply witnessed the massacre are still being detained, beaten and threatened.64

In March 2010, Human Rights Watch announced that the Uzbek authorities had forced it to close its Tashkent office by persistently preventing Human Right Watch staff from receiving visas and accreditation over many years. The same week, Uzbekistan‘s Supreme Court informed Human Rights Watch that the Justice Ministry had ―initiated liquidation proceedings against its office in Tashkent.‖65

Attachments

1. Deleted.

2. ‗Mark Weil – Courageous founder of Ilkhom, the Soviet Union‘s first independent theatre company‘ 2007, Times Online, 22 September, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article2507785.ece – Accessed 17 May 2011.

3. Whitlock, W. 2007, ‗Mark Weil – Director who brought independent theatre to Uzbekistan‘, The Guardian newspaper, 10 October, http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2007/oct/10/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries – Accessed 17 May 2011.

4. ‗About Hamid Ismailov‘ 2010, BBC News online, 23 April, http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/arts/2010/04/100423_hamid_ismailov_biography.shtml – Accessed 30 May 2011.

5. ‗Uzbekistan: The investigation of Mark Weil murder is finished‘ 2009, Ferghana.Ru, 11 August, http://enews.fergananews.com/news.php?id=1456&mode=snews – Accessed 30 May 2011.

6. Kisselgoff, A. 2007, ‗Mark Weil, Tashkent Theater Director, Dies at 55‘, New York Times, 8 September, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/08/world/asia/08weil.html – Accessed 30 May 2011.

7. CXW (pseudonym) 2007, ‗Speculation fails to drown official silence over Mark Weil‘s death‘, 20 September, newseurasia.net, http://www.neweurasia.net/culture-and- history/speculation-fails-to-drown-official-silence-over-mark-weil%E2%80%99s-death/ – Accessed 25 May 2011.

8. Demytrie, R. 2010, ‗Uzbeks guilty of director murder ‗, BBC News Online, 18 February, http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/8521314.stm- Accessed 30 May 2011.

9. Political Handbook of the World Online Edition, pp.1591-1598 (2010).

10. Fitzpatrick, C. 2011, ‗Uzbek Human Rights Group Facing Criminal Libel Suit‘, 11 March, Eurasianet.org, http://www.eurasianet.org/node/63053 – Accessed 27 May 2011.

64 Human Rights Watch 2010, Uzbekistan: Stop Persecuting Andijan Refugees’ Families, 4 May http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4be90b77c.html - Accessed 12 July 2010 65 ‗Uzbekistan: 6 Years On, No Justice for Andijan Victims‘, 2011, Human Rights Watch, 11 May, http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/05/11/uzbekistan-6-years-no-justice-andijan-victims - Accessed 30 May 2011, Attachment 39

Page 13 of 16 11. ‗Uzbekistan‘ 2009, 2009 prison census, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), http://cpj.org/imprisoned/2009.php – Accessed 27 May 2011.

12. ‗Uzbekistan: Artist facing charges of slander and insult‘ 2010, Amnesty International, 8 February, http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/EUR62/002/2010/en/b8cd033d-a373- 4b9c-965e-d743d732c8e7/eur620022010en.html – Accessed 30 May 2011.

13. US Department of State 2010, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2009 – Uzbekistan 11 March.

14. US Library of Congress – Federal Research Division 2007, Country Profile – Uzbekistan, February, p. 19 http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Uzbekistan.pdf – Accessed 9 December 2010.

15. International Secretariat 2003, ‗Uzbekistan: violence against women in prison‘, World Organisation Against Torture, 31 July, http://www.omct.org/violence-against-women/urgent- interventions/uzbekistan/2003/08/d16405/ – Accessed 30 May 2011.

16. Ismoilov, S. 2010, Uzbekistan, Expert Working Group Submission to the 98th Session of the UN Committee on Human Rights, January, p.7 http://www.ecoi.net/file_upload/470_1273654598_expertworkinggroup-uzbekistan98.pdf – Accessed 9 December 2010.

17. International Secretariat 2003, ‗Uzbekistan: violence against women in prison‘, World Organisation Against Torture, 31 July, http://www.omct.org/violence-against-women/urgent- interventions/uzbekistan/2003/08/d16405/ – Accessed 30 May 2011.

18. Johnson E. 2007, ‗Islamic Extremism May Spread in Uzbekistan, Crisis Group Says‘, 23 August, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ajnk1Kavy6Dk&refer=europe – Accessed 30 May 2011.

19. ‗Uzbekistan: The criminal case has been filed against the photographer and documentary film maker Umida Akhmedova‘ 2009, Fergana News, 17 December, http://enews.fergananews.com/article.php?id=2597 – Accessed 27 May 2011.

20. ‗Uzbekistan: Swedish Journalist publishes book on Andijan massacre‘ 2008, 11 September, http://www.cascfen.net/?p=269 – Accessed 18 May 2011.

21. Aspden, R. 2010, ‗Uzbek documentary maker found guilty of slander‘, the Guardian newspaper online, 11 February, http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/feb/11/uzbekistan- umida-akhmedova-slander – Accessed 27 May 2011

22. Steciw, K. 2010, ‗Uzbek Photojournalist Umida Akhmedova Found Guilty of Libel‘, 22 February, http://thephotographypost.com/blogs/post/kate/uzbek-photojournalist-umida- akhmedova-found-guilty-of-libel-274 – Accessed 30 May 2011.

23. ‗Uzbek Authorities Move Against Top Photographer‘ 2010, Institute of War and Peace Reporting, 2 February, http://iwpr.net/report-news/uzbek-authorities-move-against-top- photographer – Accessed 30 May 2011.

24. ‗Uzbekistan: Slander Conviction a Dangerous Assault on Artists‘ 2010, Human Rights Watch online, 12 February, http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/01/27/uzbekistan-drop- slander-charge-against-photographer – Accessed 30 May 2011.

Page 14 of 16 25. ‗Uzbekistan‘ 2010, Political Handbook of the World Online Edition CQ Press Electronic Library – originally published in Political Handbook of the World 2010, edited by Arthur S. Banks, Thomas C. Muller, Overstreet, W. & Isacoff, J. Washington: CQ Press, 2010, http://library.cqpress.com/phw/phw2010_Uzbekistan – accessed June 4, 2010.

26. Franchetti , M. 2010, ‗Doctors sterilise Uzbek women by stealth‘, The Sunday Times, 25 April, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article7107200.ece – Accessed 30 May 2011.

27. Human Rights Watch, Uzbekistan: Dissident Freed but Unjust Conviction Intact, 20 May 2011, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4ddb88572.html – Accessed 30 May 2011.

28. Fitzpatrick, C. 2011, ‗Uzbek Poet Released from Prison‘, Eurasia.net, 19 May, http://www.eurasianet.org/node/63523 – Accessed 30 May 2011.

29. Human Rights Watch 2008, Saving its Secrets, May, p.2 http://www.hrw.org/en/node/62222/section/1 – Accessed 9 December 2010.

30. ‗Activists to protest against Swedish denial of refuge for five Uzbeks‘ 2010, Uznews.net website, 28 May http://www.uznews.net/news_single.php?lng=en&cid=3&nid=13945 – Accessed 9 December 2010.

31. ‗Rallies in OSCE capitals to protest Astana‘s plans to deport Uzbek asylum seekers‘ 2010, Uznews website, 30 November http://www.uznews.net/news_single.php?lng=en&cid=3&nid=15787 – Accessed 9 December 2010.

32. ‗OSCE urged to stop deportation of asylum seekers to Uzbekistan‘ 2010, Uznews.net website, 7 October http://www.uznews.net/news_single.php?lng=en&cid=3&nid=15059 – Accessed 9 December 2010.

33. ‗Iran/Uzbekistan/Turkey: Amnesty International – Urgent Action: Ua 263/08: Forcible Return/Fear for Safety: 24 Uzbekistani nationals deported from Turkey to Iran, 2008, Amnesty International, 17 September. (CISNET Uzbekistan CX210630)

34. Amnesty International 2010, ‗EU must put pressure on Uzbekistan over Andizhan killings‘, 11 May http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/eu-must-put-pressure-uzbekistan- over-andizhan-killings-2010-05-12 – Accessed 9 December 2010.

35. Suleymanov, M. 2010, ‗Suppressed media erase memory of Andijan massacre‘ Committee to Protect Journalists website (Blog), 13 May http://cpj.org/blog/2010/05/uzbek-media- devastated-in-wake-of-andijan-massacre.php#more – Accessed 9 December 2010.

36. Akhmedova, N. undated, ‗Here and Now‘, http://www.sanat.orexca.com/eng/2- 05/here_now.shtml – Accessed 18 May 2011.

37. ‗Uzbekistan: The Andijon Uprising‘ 2005, International Crisis Group, Asia Briefing No. 38, 25 May, http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/asia/central- asia/uzbekistan/b038_uzbekistan___the_andijon_uprising_.ashx – Accessed 30 May 2011.

38. ‗The Andijan Massacre: One Year Later, Still No Justice‘ 2006, Human Rights Watch, 11 May, http://www.hrw.org/legacy/backgrounder/eca/uzbekistan0506/1.htm#_Toc134868084 – Accessed 30 May 2011.

Page 15 of 16 39. ‗Uzbekistan: 6 Years On, No Justice for Andijan Victims‘, 2011, Human Rights Watch, 11 May, http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/05/11/uzbekistan-6-years-no-justice-andijan- victims – Accessed 30 May 2011.

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