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Methodology and a Note on the Use of Pseudonyms

The present report is based on dozens of interviews with victims of human rights abuses and their relatives; lawyers; journalists; human rights defenders; and political activists. Some of the interviews were conducted in Andijan and other towns and cities in Uzbekistan; many others, particularly with refugees who fled Uzbekistan after May 13, were conducted in Kyrgyzstan. The Uzbek government did not respond to requests for meetings in June 2005, and when this report went to press it had not responded to written requests for information sent on May 24, 2005 and on August 24, 2005. We have, wherever possible, endeavored to reflect the views of the Uzbek government as they are stated in the government-run media and Uzbek government websites.

Most of the names of the witnesses interviewed for this report have been changed to protect their security and the security of their relatives. They have been assigned a pseudonym consisting of a randomly chosen first name and a last initial that is the same as the first letter of the first name, e.g., “Alisher A.” There is no continuity of pseudonyms with other Human Rights Watch reports on Uzbekistan; hence an “Alisher A.” cited in the present report is not the same person as an “Alisher A.” cited in any previous Human Rights Watch report.