Paris, Geneva, May 12, 2003

Mr. President,

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation against Torture (OMCT), in the framework of their joint programme, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, express their deepest concern for the recurring violations of freedom of action of human rights defenders in Uzbekistan.

Firstly, the Observatory condemns the violations of the freedom of demonstration. On May 8, 2003, 60 to 70 women demonstrated in Andijan against the religious persecution of their husbands and children. Several times during the demonstration, police forces attempted to put an end to the demonstration, but to no avail. When they began to near the “Navruz” stadium, the order was given to arrest all demonstrators. The arrest was extremely brutal, with the children being insulted and beaten, and the women forced to get into buses and cars. Those present during the massive arrest testified to the policemen’s particularly violent and cruel attitude.

On March 7, 2003, some forty women demonstrated on a public square in Tashkent against the torture of their husbands and sons in detention. The police was called in, blocked all exits to the square, then violently hit and forced several women to get into a police vehicle. According to the information received, at least two of these women are being kept in detention.Not long after these events, a group of women, no doubt in connection with the authorities, arrived on the scene and made accusations against three independent journalists from foreign radio stations who had witnessed the breaking up of the demonstration. These journalists were: Youssouf Rasoulov, a correspondent for the radio station “la voix d’Amérique” and Khousniddin Koutbitdinov and Mirasror Akhronov, from the station “radio liberté-RFE”. The women, who had not been present at the time, accused the journalists of having beaten the demonstrators. The journalists were thrown down on the ground and hit by men who had accompanied the women. Their work equipment, including dictaphones, telephones, and bags were taken from them and gone through. The police, only a few meters away, did nothing, despite the journalists’ calls for help.

The Observatory equally condemns the harassment against and the repression of human rights defenders, for instance, of Mrs. Mutabar Tadjibaeva. Mrs. Tadjibaeva, an independent journalist who has participated in OSCE missions and who regularly publishes articles on the human rights situation in Uzbekistan on the Internet, has been subject to many forms of pressure. In June 2002, she was arrested, hit and detained for 13 days. Her equipment was confiscated. More recently, in April 2003, she was the victim of a defamation campaign organized by the authorities via articles on the Internet, which describe Mrs. Tadjibaeva as an “enemy of the people” and as “working for the West.”
Furthermore, human rights defenders continue to be subject to arbitrary arrests and false accusations. This is true, for instance, for Mr. Muradov, Mr. Hamraev, Mr. Radjapov and Mr. Utamuratov, member of the association “Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan,” who were accused in 2002 and are still in detention.

The Observatory continues to receive information on the harassment of the families and relatives of human rights defenders.
A clear example is the case of Mr. Abdousamad Ergachev, son of Mr. Abdousalom Ergachev, a defender well-known for his articles on the human rights situation in Uzbekistan. On March 28, 2003, Abdousamad, aged 17, was arrested on his way home with a friend. Both he and his friend were hit and insulted. They were then taken to the police station without having been informed of the charges against them. Abdousamad suffered beatings to the head and lost consciousness. When he regained consciousness, the policemen began to beat him again, while yelling, “Your father is an extremist” and “this is an extremist case”, etc. On March 30, Abdousamad and his friend were accused of having stolen the suit of a certain Mr. Yoldashef. They were forced to sign a written statement admitting to the crime, even though they had never seen the man before. Mr. Yoldashef himself denied the facts, and was also subject to threats and acts of violence. He was found the next morning at 5:00 in critical condition. Abdousamad was released and is currently in very serious condition. His friend is still detained by the police. Likewise, an investigation (no. 2-59/2003) was opened concerning Mr. Olim Tochev, member of the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan. He is accused of hitting his neighbor in Karshi. His trial was set for March 14 at 10 a.m. before the criminal court of Bakhoriston; however, on March 13 2003, he was taken by force into a psychiatric hospital. Without having seen a doctor prior to hospitalization, and after being kept there illegally, Mr. Tochev was released on March15, thanks to his lawyer Mr. Bakhtior Chakhnazarov. The trial never took place.

The Observatory urges the authorities in Uzbekistan to:
- put an end to all forms of harassment against human rights defenders;
- guarantee under all circumstances the freedom of expression, of association and of demonstration, pursuant to the international engagements ratified by Uzbekistan;
- release human rights defenders, including Mr. Muradov, Mr. Hamraev, Mr. Radjapov and Mr. Utamuratov, and to consider their arrest arbitrary;
- abide by the provisions of the Declaration on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders adopted on December 9, 1998 by the UN General Assembly;
- invite the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations on Human Rights Defenders, to visit Uzbekistan, as requested.