October 17, 2005

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), has received new information about the situation in Uzbekistan.

Brief description of the situation:

The Observatory has been informed by the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights (KCHR) of the assault and intimidation of Mrs. Hurshida Togaeva, legal expert and chairman of the Pahtakor regional branch of the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan (HRSU).

According to the information received, on September 23, 2005, two unknown men appeared to be watching Mrs. Hurshida Togaeva's house. On September 24, 2005, she went by bus to Bulungur, near Samarkand, to visit her daughter. On the bus, she noticed the same men. When she got off the bus, she entered an almost deserted street and realised that she was being followed by the two men, who quickly overtook her and then asked her why she was going to Samarkand. Before she had time to answer, one of the men hit her in the stomach. As a result, Mrs. Hurshida Togaeva fell to the ground and started vomiting.

When she said that she did not know them, they answered that they did know her, and that "if once again [they] learn that [she] met ambassadors [they] shall destroy [her], and [her] family".

One of the men then asked her: "From what embassies do ambassadors come to meet Mr. Bahtier Hamraev [chairman of HRSU Djizak section]?" She replied that she did not know. Another man decided to call Mr. Hamraev on his mobile phone and ordered Mrs. Togaeva to ask him. According to Mr. Hamraev, Mrs. Togaeva spoke very slowly and her voice was hardly audible. He asked her what happened, but she answered that "everything [was] fine". As they did not receive the answer they were expecting, one of the men kicked her in the thigh. Before she left, they threatened her once more that "if [she] leave[s] [her] house without their permission, [they] shall kill [her]".

With difficulty, Mrs. Togaeva reached the house of her daughter, where she stayed during two days in a bad health. On September 26, she went home, but in the morning of the next day she lost consciousness, and was driven to the hospital. She regained consciousness on September 29.

On September 21, as she was absent for work reasons, an unknown person came to her house three times and asked her son, who was at home, where she was. During the next few days, the same person visited the house again twice, asking her son the same question. He answered that she had gone in Djizak to the regional economic court. Before leaving, the man said: "Tell your mother that she has to stay at home, and if she does not obey, it will be bad".

At first, Mrs. Togaeva did not inform law enforcement bodies, nor a doctor, that she had been attacked. When Mr. Hamraev, who had visited her in hospital, asked her about the reason for her silence, she replied that she had done so because in Navbahor village, where she lives, nearly no one perceives her as a legal expert, insofar as authorities do everything to present legal experts as rebels, "enemies of people", who oppose the state and policies of the president. Later on, Mrs. Togaeva finally wrote an application to the militia.

Action requested:

Please write to the Uzbek authorities, urging them to:

1. guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mrs. Hurshida Togaeva and all Uzbek human rights defenders;
2. carry out a fair, independent and impartial investigation into these events, in order to identify the perpetrators, bring them to justice and pronounce sentences proportional to the gravity of their crime;
3. put an end to all acts of harassment and reprisals against human rights defenders in Uzbekistan in conformity with the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the United Nations' General Assembly on December 9, 1998, in particular its article 1, which states that "everyone has the right, individually or in association with others, to promote the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels", and its article 12.2, which states that "the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually or in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration";
4. more generally, conform with the provisions of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, and with all other international human rights instruments binding Uzbekistan.
   
   

Addresses:

• President of Uzbekistan, Islam Abduganiyevich Karimov, ul. Uzbekistanskaya 43, Rezidentsia prezidenta, 700163 Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan, Fax: +998 71 133 7258, Email: presidents_office@press-service.uz
• Minister of Foreign Affairs, Elyor Majidovich Ganiev, 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, Email: 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 Prosecutor 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
• National Centre for Human Rights, Senator Akmal Saidov, Natsionalny tsentr po pravam cheloveka, 5/3, Mustakillik Maidoni, g. Tashkent, Respublika Uzbekistan. 700029, Fax: + 998 71 139 13 56 / 45 16, Email: office@nchr.uz
• 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: +41 (0)22 799 43 02, Email: uzbekistan@bluewin.ch
  
  

Geneva-Paris, October 17, 2005