UZB 001 / 0505 / OBS 036
Arbitrary arrests and detentions / Ill-treatment
Uzbekistan
Brief description of the situation:
The Observatory has been informed by the Legal Aid Society (LAS) of the arbitrary arrests, detentions and physical attack of human rights defenders who have been denouncing and investigating into the disproportionate use of force against civilians, on May 13, 2005, during peaceful demonstrations in Andijan, Uzbekistan, resulting in the killing of hundreds of them, including women and children.
According to the information received, on May 21, 2005, Mr. Saidjahon Zaynabitdinov, member of the Human Rights Group in Andijan, was arrested. He is currently detained incommunicado and charged with libel (article 139 of the Criminal Code) for his denunciation and declarations to the international media concerning the violent events of May 13, 2005 (See press releases by FIDH and OMCT).
On May 22, 2005, Mr. Sobithon Ustabaev of the Namangan Group for Protection of Human Rights was arrested and sentenced to 15 days in detention on the basis of the administrative code of Uzbekistan after taking part in a peaceful protest against the above-mentioned events in Andijan.
Moreover, some days before these arrests, it has been reported that two members of the human rights organisation “Ezgullik”, Messrs. Ulugbek Bakirov and Fazleddin Gafurov, were beaten up and harassed by law enforcement agents in Andijan as they were going to interview witnesses of the May 13 events.
The Observatory considers that the arrests of Messrs. Zaynabitdinov and Ustabaev are aimed at hindering their work as human rights defenders and curtailing their right to freedom expression, and expresses its deep concern for the situation of human rights defenders in Uzbekistan.
The Observatory recalls that these arrests and acts of harassment constitute serious violations of international human rights obligations of the Uzbek government and in particular of every person’s right “to promote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels” guaranteed in article 1 of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.
Action requested:
Please write to the Uzbek authorities, urging them to:
i.release immediately and unconditionally Messrs. Saidjahon Zaynabitdinov and Sobithon Ustabaev, for their detention is arbitrary;
ii.guarantee their physical and psychological integrity and procedural rights in all circumstances;
iii.investigate into and hold those responsible accountable for the attack against Messrs. Ulugbek Bakirov and Fazleddin Gafurov, so as to ensure that the appropriate administrative and criminal sanctions provided by law be applied to them;
iv.put an end to all acts of harassment against human rights defenders in the country in conformity with the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the United Nations’ General Assembly on December 9, 1998, in particular its article 5 (a) which states that “For the purpose of promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, at the national and international levels: (a) To meet or assemble peacefully”; its article 6 which guarantees the rights: “(a) To know, seek, obtain, receive and hold information about all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including having access to information as to how those rights and freedoms are given effect in domestic legislative, judicial or administrative systems; (b) (...) freely to publish, impart or disseminate to others views, information and knowledge on all human rights and fundamental freedoms; [and] (c) To study, discuss, form and hold opinions on the observance, both in law and practice, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and, through these and other appropriate means, to draw public attention to these matters"; and the above-mentioned article 1;
v.more generally, conform with the provisions of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, and with all other international human rights instruments binding Syria.
Addresses:
President of Uzbekistan, Islam Abduganiyevich Karimov, ul. Uzbekistanskaya 43, Rezidentsia prezidenta, 700163 Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan, Fax: +998 71 133 7258, E-mail: presidents_office@press-service.uz
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sodiq Solihovich Safoyev, Respublika Uzbekistan; 700029 g. Tashkent; pl. Mustakillik, 5; Ministerstvo inostrannykh del RU, S.S., Uzbekistan, Fax: + 998 71 139 15 17
Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights, Sayora Rashidova, ul. Xalqlar Dostligi 1, 700035 Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan, Fax: +998 71 139 85 55, E-mail: office@ombudsman.gov.uz
Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Ubaydulla Mingbaev, Respublika Uzbekistan; 700183 g. Tashkent; ul. Abdulla Kodiri, 1; Verkhovny Sud Respubliki Uzbekistan
General Procurator of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Rashidjon Hamidovich Kodirov, ul. Gulyamova 66, 700047 Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan, Fax: +998 71 133 39 17, E-mail: prokuratura@lawyer.com
Ambassador of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the United Nations in Geneva, PO Box 1853, 1215 Geneva 15, Switzerland, Fax: +4122 799 43 02, E-mail: uzbekistan@bluewin.ch
Please also write to the embassies of Uzbekistan in your respective country.
*****
Geneva-Paris, May 26, 2005
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, a joint FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders, and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.
To contact the Observatory, call the Emergency Line:
E-mail:observatoire@iprolink.ch
Tel and Fax FIDH: + 33 1 43 55 25 18 / + 33 1 43 55 18 80
Tel and Fax OMCT: + 41 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29