September 29, 2008
Re: EU Policy Toward Uzbekistan
Dear Foreign Minister,
EU policy toward Uzbekistan is at a crossroads. In two weeks' time, you will decide on the fate of one of the most significant policies the EU has adopted in the name of human rights - the sanctions imposed in response to the May 2005 massacre at Andijan, in which Uzbek security forces killed hundreds of civilians, and the ensuing government crackdown on civil society. In the six months since the sanctions last came up for review, the Uzbek government has not only failed to make any progress toward meeting the human rights criteria the EU set for reviewing its sanctions policy, it has actually backtracked in a number of respects. We urge you to maintain EU credibility on human rights and pursue a policy toward Uzbekistan that has as its core the advancement of concrete progress in human rights, by upholding the sanctions and making clear they will not be lifted until the assessment criteria are met.
The stakes are high, with more than a dozen human rights defenders and journalists remaining in prison, two of them - Akzam Turgunov and Salijon Abdurakhmanov - arrested just since the EU last reviewed its sanctions policy toward Uzbekistan in April. The other imprisoned activists include: Azam Formonov, Abdusattor Irzaev, Nosim Isakov, Alisher Karamatov, Jamshid Karimov, Norboi Kholjigitov, Rasul Khudainasarov, Dilmurod Muhiddinov, Mamarajab Nazarov, Habibulla Okpulatov, and Yuldash Rasulev.
It is clear that these individuals have no hope but for sustained international pressure on the Uzbek government to secure their release. Equally clear is that the best tool currently available to the EU for exerting such pressure is through the sanctions. The significant potential the sanctions carry to serve as effective policy tools in this area became evident through the wave of releases and/or amnesties in early 2008; the releases occurred in the days preceding a bilateral meeting between the EU and Uzbekistan, and one can only conclude that they happened because the Uzbek government wanted to be seen as making a positive move at a critical juncture in the sanctions process. At the time, the bulk of the sanctions were suspended, but the EU had made clear that they would be reinstated in full in April should the Uzbek government fail to fulfill a number of specific criteria, including releasing imprisoned defenders.
Regrettably, despite this clear evidence of the sanctions producing concrete results, the EU in its April review squandered precious leverage by simply extending the suspension for the remainder of the sanctions' lifespan, sending a signal to Tashkent that no further moves were necessary in order for the sanctions to ultimately go away.
It is against this background that the recent Uzbek government backtracking in human rights must be viewed. In addition to arresting two activists on trumped-up charges, it intensified its efforts to obstruct Human Rights Watch's work in Uzbekistan, first denying accreditation to Human Rights Watch's representative in Tashkent, then proceeding to outright ban him from the country. As a result, Human Rights Watch has been unable to have a presence in Tashkent since mid-July and our office there is threatened with closure after more than twelve years of continual presence in the country. Meanwhile, all other international organizations that were forced to close down their operations in Uzbekistan in recent years continue to be denied the opportunity to re-establish a presence in the country.
The Uzbek government's record is abysmal in all areas of the EU sanctions' criteria:
- In addition to the more than a dozen defenders and journalists it continues to imprison for politically motivated reasons, a number of other activists - such as Yusuf Jumaev, a poet and political dissident sentenced to five years in a penal colony after calling for President Karimov's resignation - are also serving lengthy prison sentences on trumped-up charges. The release on parole of rights defender Mutabar Tojibaeva in early June, while certainly welcome, was overshadowed by her precarious health condition and the authorities' obstruction of her freedom of movement and denial of access to medical care even after her release. Tojibaeva has not been acquitted of the criminal charges against her, and is at a constant risk of being returned to prison.
- As the cases of Akzam Turgunov and Salijon Abdurakhmanov make painfully clear, the Uzbek government continues to crack down on civil society, detaining and threatening rights defenders, journalists and others with prosecution for their peaceful activism. A particularly insidious practice employed by the Uzbek government is a combination of threats, harassment and in a number of cases, such as Ikhtior Khamroev, even imprisonment of these activists' children or other relatives in retaliation for their human rights or civic work.
Temporary detention and house arrest of human rights activists in order to obstruct their work remain common. The last six months were no exception. For example, on September 18 police in Tashkent detained eight human rights defenders who had traveled to the capital to participate in a conference on economic and social development in Uzbekistan, and held them for seven hours with the obvious objective to prevent them from attending the conference. At this very writing, a number of defenders in Jizzakh, the site of a visit by a US official, were subjected to heavy surveillance and had been warned not to leave their houses.
Defenders and other activists continue to flee the country out of fear for their security or that of their loved ones. Human Rights Watch is aware of at least three such cases in the last six months, indicating that the crackdown against civil society continues unabated.
Defenders released and/or amnestied in early 2008 continue to be subjected to close surveillance, threats and harassment, and are prevented from meeting with foreign visitors and generally from pursuing their human rights work.
- The government persists in its refusal to allow United Nations human rights experts, including the Special Rapporteurs on torture and on human rights defenders, access to the country, despite their longstanding and repeated requests for invitations to visit.
- The government has failed to take effective action to address the culture of impunity for torture, which remains rampant despite the much-hailed habeas corpus legislation that entered into force in January 2008 (while addressing impunity for torture was not among the sanctions criteria, it is worth noting here because the Uzbek government and the EU have both repeatedly referenced the adoption of habeas corpus among the positive steps that would justify dropping the sanctions). Indeed, to make habeas corpus effective it is necessary to implement a number of other reforms guaranteeing the independence of the judiciary, which is non-existent in Uzbekistan. Human Rights Watch continues to receive credible reports of torture and ill-treatment, particularly during pre-trial detention. One deeply worrying case is that of Akzam Turgunov, one of the recently-arrested defenders, who alleges having had boiling water poured down his neck and back on July 14, while writing a statement in the investigator's office, causing severe burns and causing Turgunov to lose consciousness. On July 22, Turgunov's lawyer filed a request with the Prosecutor's Office to investigate the ill-treatment, but received no reply. In his court hearing on September 16, Turgunov removed his shirt to show the burns, which covered a large portion of his back and neck. After viewing the burns, the judge ordered a forensic medical exam, which occurred on September 22. The results are unknown at this writing.
- The government continues to deny justice for the May 2005 massacre at Andijan and to seek out and persecute anyone it deems to have a connection to or information about the Andijan events. This is particularly true for many of the relatives of hundreds of persons who fled to Kyrgyzstan in the immediate aftermath of the massacre and were later resettled in third countries, as well as those who fled but later returned to Andijan. These groups remain under intense government pressure and have been subjected to interrogations, constant surveillance, ostracism, and in at least one case, an overt threat to life. As a result, more than three years after the massacre, government persecution continues to generate new refugees from Andijan.
The Uzbek government's policies are a reflection of its utter disrespect for the EU's rights demands, and underscore its determination to obstruct independent civic activism and human rights monitoring. But they are also directly attributable to the misguided EU decision last April to extend the suspension of the bulk of the sanctions without securing the continuity of the sanctions beyond their current expiration date in October, removing the "looming threat of reinstatement," which constituted the very leverage that had triggered the early 2008 defender releases and was necessary to secure further releases. The upcoming General Affairs and External Relations Council represents a crucial opportunity to correct this mistake, and refocus the EU's policy on improving the lives of those who bear the brunt of Tashkent's repressive policies.
The EU has set clear criteria for reviewing its sanctions policy vis-à-vis Uzbekistan, and those criteria are very far from being met. What is needed now is an EU policy that can reverse this negative trend and serve as an effective catalyst for measurable, meaningful human rights improvements. The upcoming GAERC decision is a litmus test of the EU's resolve to insist on real reform. We sincerely hope you will ensure it passes this test with flying marks.
Thank you for your attention and engagement on this important issue.
Rachel Denber
Acting Director
Europe and Central Asia Division
Lotte Leicht
EU Director
