Judicial harassment and arbitrary detention of Mr. Dilmurod Saidov

July 20, 2009

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Uzbekistan.

Description of the situation:

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the judicial harassment and arbitrary detention of Mr. Dilmurod Saidov, a journalist and member of the independent human rights organisation Ezgulik who collected and published information to defend farmers whose lands were lusted by local authorities representatives and denounced cases of abuse of power and corruption, thereby bringing up evidence of the involvement of various regional officials.

According to the information received, on June 29, 2009, a court hearing took place in the trial of Mr. Dilmurod Saidov for “extortion” (Article 165 of the Criminal Code) and “production, forgery of documents, stamps, seals, blanks and their sale or use” (Article 228) before the Samarkand Oblast Criminal Court.

During this hearing, Mr. Saydullo Boymurodov, former Chairman of the Shirkat (kolkhoz) “Uzbekistan”, in Khomboyskoy district, accused Mr. Dilmurod Saidov of attempting to extort 5,000 USD from him in May 2004 in exchange for not publishing information incriminating him. Following the publication of the articles, Mr. Boymurodov was prosecuted twice for criminal charges and had to resign from his position.

Similarly, Mr. Asliddin Urinbaev, Chairman of the company “Farovon Khaet Yuli”, also accused Mr. Saidov of attempting to extort 15,000 USD from him after Mr. Saidov had published information incriminating Mr. Urinbaev. Following the publication of the articles, Mr. Urinbaev was subject to a criminal investigation and prosecuted in Samarkand. According to Mr. Urinbaev, a woman named Ms. Marguba Dzhuraeva and four of her friends would have asked him 15,000 USD. Ms. Marguba Dzhuraeva was then arrested by Samarkan police in the possession of 13,000 USD on February 22, 2009 and at this occasion she stated that she had acted on behalf of Mr. Saidov. Mr. Saidov was then also arrested on February 22, 2009. However, Ms. Dzhuraeva later said that Mr. Saidov had nothing to do with the money and that she did not know him. Nonetheless, Mr. Saidov was kept in detention and the investigation and criminal proceedings were maintained.

Mr. Saidov is currently detained in Colony U/Ya 64/7 in Kattakurgan, district of Samarkand.

According to the information received, the proceedings led against Mr. Saidov are merely based on the testimonies of Mr. Asliddin Urinbaev and Mr. Saydullo Boymurodov and no other evidence was presented.

Moreover, Mr. Saidov would suffer from chronic tuberculosis. For this reason, he requested his provisional release during the trial proceedings. He presented a letter of guarantee from Ezgulik according to Article 252 of the Procedural Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan “Surety of Public Association or Employer”. However, Judge Navruz rejected his application, arguing that he was a dangerous criminal. Furthermore, Mr. Saidov's family reported that his conditions of detention were unhygienic, unsanitary and inappropriate given his fragile health and that he would be very weak and would have lost a lot of weight.

The Observatory believes that the real reason for his arrest was his human rights activities, in particular the disclose of corruption and abuse of power cases implicating local public officials in Djumbay district, Samarkand region. The Observatory expresses its deepest concern with this blatantly abusive proceedings and arbitrary detention, which stem from fabricated charges. This is further evidence that the Uzbek authorities are determined to silence any dissenting voice in the country.

As a participating State of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Observatory recalls that Uzbekistan recognises “the need for particular attention, support and protection for human rights defenders by the OSCE, its Institutions and field operations, as well as by participating States” [1].

The Observatory further urges the European Commission Delegation as well as European Union (EU) Member-States embassies in the Uzbekistan to call upon the Uzbek authorities to comply with the relevant international norms and standards, in particular the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, and take action on the above-mentioned elements, in line with the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders.

Actions requested:

Please write to the Uzbek authorities, urging them to:

1. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Dilmurod Saidov;
2. Release Mr. Saidov immediately and unconditionally since his detention is arbitrary as it seems to merely aim at sanctioning his human rights activities;
3. Ensure in the meantime that Mr. Saidov be granted all necessary medical treatment;
4. Put an end to any kind of harassment - including at the judicial level - against Mr. Saidov, and ensure in all circumstances that he is able to carry out his human rights activities without any hindrance;
5. Comply with the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998, in particular Article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually or collectively, to promote the protection and fulfilment of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, as well as Article 12.2, which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually or in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”;
6. Comply with the provisions of the Document of the Copenhagen Meeting of the 2nd Conference on the Human Dimension of the Cooperation and Security Conference in Europe (CSCE) (1990), and guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and other international human rights instruments ratified by Uzbekistan.

Addresses

• Mr. Bahodir Matliubov, Minister of Internal Affairs, Ministerstvo vnutrennikh del RU; ul. Junus Rajabiy 1; Tashkent 700029, Uzbekistan. Fax: + 998 71 233 89 34; Email: mvd@mvd.uz, info@mvd.uz, secretariyat@mvd.uz
• Mr. Alisher Sharafutdinov, Deputy Prosecutor General, Prokuratura Respubliki Uzbekistan; ul. Gulyamova 66; Tashkent 700047, Uzbekistan. Fax: + 998 71 233 39 17/ 133 73 68; Email: prokuratura@lawyer.com
• Mr. Vladimir Norov, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministerstvo inostrannykh del RU; pl. Mustakillik, 5; Tashkent 700029, Uzbekistan. Fax: + 998 71 139 15 17
• Head of the Nukus City Department of Internal Affairs (police), Glave GOVD, Gorodskoi Otdel Vnutrennikh Del, ul. Biruni, g. Nukus, AR Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan.
• H.E Ms. Goulnora Karimova, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Mission of Uzbekistan to the United Nations in Geneva, International Centre Cointrin (ICC), Bloc G (7th Floor), Route de Pré-Bois 20, 1215 Geneva 15, Switzerland. Fax: +41 22 799 43 02. Email: uzbekistan@bluewin.ch
• H.E. Ms. Goulnora Karimova, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the United Nations Office and other International Organisations in Geneva, International Centre Cointrin (ICC), Bloc G (7th Floor), Route de Pré-Bois 20, 1215 Geneva 15, Switzerland. Fax: +41 22 799 43 02. Email: uzbekistan@bluewin.ch

Paris-Geneva, July 20, 2009

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need. The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.

To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
Tel and fax OMCT + 41 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29

Tel and fax FIDH + 33 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80

[1] See OP 6 & OP 8 of the Resolution on Strengthening OSCE Engagement with Human Rights Defenders and National Human Rights Institutions, adopted by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly on July 10, 2007.