Human Rights Watch condemned the five year sentence handed down to an independent human rights activist.
Wednesday's conviction of Mahbuba Kasymova, 48, is the latest in a series of government attacks on the Independent Human Rights Organization of Uzbekistan. Eyewitnesses at the trial reported that the prosecutor repeatedly referred to the Independent Human Rights Organization of Uzbekistan (NOPCHU) as "an illegal organization," and accused Kasymova of committing "illegal actions" in connection with her work there. "Mrs. Kasymova's conviction is a farce," said Holly Cartner, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch's Europe and Central Asia Division. "It appears the government of Uzbekistan's goal is to silence all the independent human rights activists."
Kasymova's conviction follows the June 19 death in detention of NOPCHU member Akhmadkhon Turakhonov, the June 25 arrest and beating of NOPCHU chairman Mikhail Ardzinov, and the July 12 arrest of NOPCHU activist Ismail Adylov.
At 9 am on July 12, authorities requested that Mrs. Kasymova come to the courthouse, but did not state that proceedings would begin, thereby depriving her of the right to the counsel of her choice. Judge Erkin Iusupov of the Iunusabad District Court also refused to postpone the hearing so that key witnesses could testify in Kasymova's defense. During the hearing Judge Iusupov ignored evidence presented by Mrs. Kasymova in her own defense.
In May, prosecutors charged Kasymova, a longtime human rights activist and member of the banned Birlik (Unity) Democratic Party, with harboring a criminal, article 241 of the Uzbek criminal code. In June, prosecutors filed additional charges of fraud against Kasymova, in connection with money she claims was borrowed from a neighbor.
On May 12, police arrested Ravshan Khamidov, a friend of the Kasymov family who had been living with them in their Tashkent apartment since November 1998. Authorities have charged Khamidov, who has been in detention since that time, with involvement in the February 16 bombings in Tashkent. Khamidov, who has yet to be tried, denies this allegation, and has also denied being in hiding while living with the Kasymovs in Tashkent. During a search of the Kasymov's home, according to family members, police planted both a hand grenade and forbidden Islamic leaflets in Khamidov's possessions. Human Rights Watch has interviewed nearly one hundred persons in 1998 and 1999 who tell similar stories of evidence planting by police.
The day after Khamidov's arrest, Uzbekistan's state television news program showed Kasymova's picture and described her as a "criminal." Police repeatedly summoned for questioning Kasymova's family members, including her young daughters, and plainclothes police constantly monitored her home. On May 20, police detectives brought Kasymova in for questioning, and then transported her to her neighborhood council headquarters, where she was subjected to a four-hour denunciation session by local activists. When she tried to leave, she was surrounded by four police officers, and forced to stand silently while those present denounced her. The state television news program broadcast portions of this session, again describing Kasymova as a criminal. Uzbek authorities had previously used this technique, reminiscent of Stalinist times, against other human rights activists.
For Further Information:
In Tashkent: Acacia Shields, (99871) 130-13-25
In Moscow: Sasha Petrov, (7095) 265-4448
In Brussels: Jean-Paul Marthoz, 322 732-2009
In London: Urmi Shah, 44 171 713-1995
In New York: Cassandra Cavanaugh (212) 216-1271
