Uzbekistan: Stop Arresting Defenders for Reporting on Andijan Massacre

On May 13, 2005, violence broke out in Andijan, Uzbekistan. President Islam Karimov and other official sources initially indicated that the army responded with gunfire to a gathering of extremists, and that 169 “bandits” were killed. Independent sources, however, estimate that the civilian death toll could be as high as 750 men, women and children.

In the aftermath of the violence, human rights defenders face beatings and arrests. The crackdown targets those attempting to gather and disseminate information about the events and the identity and number of victims. Because the government controls all media output in Uzbekistan, this independent reporting is vital.

Saidjahon Zainabitdinov, chairman of the human rights group Apelliatsia (Appeal) in Andijan, witnessed the security forces using lethal force on May 13. After commenting on the incident to international press, Mr. Zainabitdinov was arrested and detained incommunicado for three days. He now faces prosecution under criminal libel laws.

In Tashkent, government agents beat and arrested several activists on their way to interview survivors of the Andijan tragedy. At least one human rights defender in Namangan was harassed and arrested by authorities while peacefully protesting the violence in Andijan.

In Uzbekistan, where torture in prisons is widespread, detention for even a short time raises serious concerns for the safety of detainees.

Human rights defenders, who have long faced official repression, are essential in ensuring that the government of Uzbekistan and its agents are held accountable for grave human rights abuses committed against civilians in Andijan and elsewhere. Human Rights First urgently needs your help to help protect human rights defenders in Uzbekistan.

Background:

On May 13, 2005, violence broke out in Andijan, Uzbekistan. Reports from government and independent sources vary as to the events leading up to the violence, the identity of the victims, and the actual death toll. President Islam Karimov and other official sources initially indicated that the army responded with gunfire to a gathering of terrorists and extremists, and that 169 “bandits” were killed. The government controls all media output in Uzbekistan.

Meanwhile, independent sources – including eyewitnesses – report that gunfire from helicopters, tanks, and armed soldiers was directed at hundreds of unarmed civilians gathered to peacefully protest arbitrary arrests, political repression, and economic conditions in Uzbekistan. Some estimate that the death toll could be as high as 750 men, women and children. Eyewitnesses have also reported that after crowds dispersed, soldiers walked around shooting any injured people who remained in the square point blank in the head. Local schools were reportedly turned into impromptu morgues and were stacked with corpses.

The United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe have asked the government of Uzbekistan to allow an independent, international investigation into the incident. President Karimov has refused to allow such an investigation and has the support of the Russian and Chinese governments in doing so.

In the meantime, independent human rights defenders and organizations must be allowed to interview eyewitnesses and families of victims, report on violations suffered by the protestors, monitor official investigations as they unfold, and communicate their findings and opinions to the international press.

Instead, several human rights defenders have been arrested for their monitoring work related to the recent violence in Andijan. They include:

• Saidjahon Zainabitdinov, a human rights defender from Andijan and chairman of the human rights group Apelliatsia (Appeal), who was present for the May 13 protests and apparently witnessed the government’s use of violence to disperse demonstrators. Zainabitdinov’s comments to various news agencies are believed to be the reason for his arrest and detention. He was held incommunicado for three days.

• Sobithon Ustabaev, a human rights defender from Namangan, who was arrested on May 22 while peaceful protesting against the Andijan events. He belongs to the Namangan Group of Protection of Human Rights and will be detained for 15 days under the administrative code.

• Two members of the well-known human rights organization Ezgulik, Ulugbek Bakirov and Fazleddin Gafurov, who were beaten and harassed by authorities while on their way to interview witnesses of the Andijan incidents.

The government’s detention of a number of human rights defenders in the last few weeks illustrates its intolerance toward those who monitor and report on human rights violations.

In the last few years through intimidation, harassment, physical attacks, arbitrary arrests, and torture, the government has sought to silence human rights defenders. The government has also placed increased pressure on human rights defenders by prosecuting them under counterterrorism and counter-extremism laws. The laws of Uzbekistan increasingly limit registration of organizations, permissible public gatherings, and criticism of the government by local and foreign organizations operating in the country. These measures have made it virtually impossible for most domestic and foreign human rights organizations to function legally and openly.

Since September 11, 2001, the government of Uzbekistan has become a key ally in the US-led “war on terror.” Uzbekistan and the U.S. entered into military and security cooperation agreements which allow the U.S. to make full use of a military base strategically located on Uzbekistan’s shared border with Afghanistan. Despite the U.S. State Department’s own reports condemning Uzbekistan’s human rights record, including the widespread use of torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, and religious persecution, U.S. financial and military support to Uzbekistan continues. Evidence now indicates that the United States also relies on Uzbekistan to detain in Uzbek jails individuals suspected by the United Stated of having links to terrorist groups.

Sample Letter:

President Islam KARIMOV
President of the Republic of Uzbekistan
c\o Embassy of Uzbekistan to the United States
1746 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036-1903

Dear President Karimov:

I have recently learned that Uzbek human rights defender Saidjahon Zainabitdinov, chairman of the human rights group Apelliatsia ("Appeal") in Andijan, was arrested May 21, 2005, and was detained by the government of Uzbekistan for three days. I understand that Mr. Zainabitdinov's detention may be linked to comments he made to the media about the government's use of force against civilians during demonstrations in Andijan on May 13. I have learned of several other human rights defenders who have also been arrested and detained for commenting on the violence at Andijan. I urge you to stop the persecution of those who provide the international community with information about this troubling incident.

The government’s detention of a number of human rights defenders in the last few weeks illustrates the Uzbek government’s increasing intolerance toward those who monitor and report on human rights violations. In Tashkent, the government arrested several activists attempting to join in protesting the government's use of force in Andijan. According to the Andijan branch of the human rights group Ezgulik, authorities last week beat and harassed two Ezgulik members as they conducted interviews with witnesses and relatives of those who were killed during the Andijan violence.

The government must allow human rights monitors to report on recent events in Uzbekistan as provided for under international law. Any arrests of defenders on account of their monitoring or reporting activities are direct violations of the 1998 UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, under which all persons have the right "freely to publish, impart or disseminate to others views, information and knowledge on all human rights and fundamental freedoms," as well as other international instruments that are binding on the government of Uzbekistan, like the International Covenenant on Civil and Political Rights. The government should recognize and support the important work of Uzbek human rights defenders instead of persecuting them for their legitimate activities.

While defenders remain in detention, I strongly urge you to ensure that conditions of detention meet basic international standards. International human rights law requires that all persons held in detention are treated with humanity and dignity and that they are not subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. The Uzbek government, which has a well-documented record of torturing prisoners, should ensure the application of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and the UN Body of Principles for the Protection of all Persons Under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, which further elaborate the basic standards to be achieved in ensuring respect for the rights of detainees.

I request accurate, complete information about the circumstances of recent arrests and detentions of human rights defenders in Uzbekistan. I will continue to monitor this and other similar cases closely. I appreciate your attention to this most serious matter.

Sincerely,