Police arrested human rights activist Mahbuba Kasymova on charges of concealing a crime after her houseguest, Rafshan Hamidov, was arrested on charges witnesses claimed were fabricated including possession of narcotics, weapons, and banned religious leaflets. Police subjected Kasymova and her family members to months of grueling interrogation. In a "hate rally" organized by local authorities, participants denounced her as an "enemy of the state" and supporter of terrorists.

When Kasymova was brought to court in July 1999, the authorities did not notify her that her trial would begin immediately. At the three-hour trial, which Human Rights Watch observed, the presiding judge denied her request for a lawyer of her choice, ignored her plea of innocence, and took less than fifteen minutes to reach his verdict before condemning her to five years in prison. Kasymova is currently being held in a women's prison outside of the country's capital, Tashkent. Her August 1999 appeal was rejected by the Tashkent regional court.

Kasymova is a member of the steering committee of the Independent Human Rights Organization of Uzbekistan.