New acts of violence against Mr. Bakhtior Khamroev's son

December 11, 2007

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), has received new information and requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Uzbekistan.

New information:

The Observatory has received information from the Human Rights Society in Uzbekistan (HRSU) about new acts of violence against Mr. Ikhtior Khamroev, the son of Mr. Bakhtior Khamroev, head of the Djizak section of HRSU, and a second-year student at the Technological University of Djizak, who has been detained since the beginning of August 2006 (See background information).

According to the information received, on November 29, 2007, Mr. Ikhtior Khamroev was severely beaten in the penitentiary colony UYA 64-18, where he is currently detained, to force him to admit that he had committed disciplinary offences. His family were hoping that he might be released early under a December 2007 presidential amnesty[1], but when his mother visited him on November 29 he told her that his sentence had been extended by seven months for alleged “disciplinary offences”. He feared the authorities would use this as a pretext to disqualify him from the amnesty.

On November 30, 2007, Mr. Bakhtior Khamroev received a phone call from the colony UYA 64-18, and was informed that his son had been wounded in the abdominal area. However, sources inside the prison reported that he stabbed himself in the abdomen in protest. It is not clear how he managed to get a knife. He was apparently refused appropriate medical treatment, and locked in a punishment cell. The prison director has refused to allow his parents to visit him, and has given them no details of where he is held or about his medical condition.

The Observatory fears that these events might be reprisals for the public criticisms of the authorities spoken out by Mr. Bakhtior Khamroev during Frontline’s annual conference on human rights defenders in Dublin, from November 22 to 24, 2007. Mr. Bakhtior Khamroev made his speech just days after the UN Committee Against Torture concluded that torture and impunity remained routine in Uzbekistan and criticised the authorities for their harsh treatment of human rights defenders.

The Observatory is deeply concerned about these new acts of reprisals against Mr. Ikhtior Khamroev and fears for his physical and psychological integrity. The Observatory also considers his detention, which appears to be aimed at sanctioning his father’s human rights activities, as arbitrary.

Background information:

On August 2, 2006 the police of Djizak arrested Mr. Ikhtior Khamroev and opened an inquiry against him. Interrogated during more than eight hours without having access to a lawyer, he was then charged with “hooliganism” under article 277 of the Uzbek Criminal Code (Chapter XX: Crimes against public order).

On September 24, 2006, Mr. Ikhtior Khamroev was sentenced to a three-year’ prison term by the court of Djizak, which was more than requested by prosecutor. This sentence was confirmed in appeal on September 29, 2006, by the regional court of Djizak, and on third instance, on November 22, 2006.

On December 10, 2006, Mr. Ikhtior Khamroev was transferred from colony n°64/43, in Tchumurgan, to colony n°64/78, in the district of Zafarabad, also in Djizak region.

Since the beginning of his detention, Mr. Ikhtior Khamroev has received two disciplinary warnings, which prevented him from being released under the terms of the amnesty that was voted by the Uzbek Parliament on November 30, 2006.

His father, Mr. Bakhtior Khamroev, has also been subjected to many acts of harassment and intimidation. In particular, on August 18, 2006, he was attacked at his home, by a group of women, as he was having a meeting with two diplomats from the British Embassy. Seriously wounded, he had to be conducted to the hospital.

On December 26, 2006, Mr. Ikhtior Khamroev asked the warden of the penal colony 64/78, where he was recently transferred, the permission to talk to a doctor. He was indeed feeling bad, as he was working hard at the colony, in the framework of his sentence. He also asked him to inform the chief of the colony about his health problems. The attendant allowed him to rest and promised to talk to the chief of the colony. However, on the next day, Mr. Ikhtior Khamroev was violently beaten at his workplace by employees of the colony. He was kept in handcuffs, kicked by feet, including on his stomach, seized by the hair and dragged on the ground. Then, he was placed in incommunicado detention for one day. As his health got worse, the chief of the colony ordered his transfer to Zafarabad regional hospital. However, he did not undergo any medical examination and was brought back to the colony soon after.

On January 5, 2007, as his health got even worse, Mr. Ikhtior Khamroev was brought to Djizak regional hospital, where he received emergency care and was diagnosed with stomach ulcer. However, on the next day, the doctor changed his diagnosis after talking to the chief of the colony, and stated that Mr. Ikhtior Khamroev was “only” suffering from gastritis. On the same day, he was brought back to the colony.

Actions required:

Please write to the Uzbek authorities urging them to:

1. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Messrs. Ikhtior Khamroev and Bakhtior Khamroev;
2. Release M. Ikhtior Khamroev immediately and unconditionally since his detention is arbitrary;
3. Guarantee him an unconditional access to any medical treatment he may require;
4. Conduct a fair and impartial inquiry into the above-mentioned acts of violence in order to identify their authors, bring them to justice and sanction them according to law;
5. Put an end to all acts of harassment against them as well as all other human rights defenders in Uzbekistan;
6. Conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, especially its article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels” and article 12.2, which states that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and 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”;
7. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by Uzbekistan.

Addresses :

• President of Uzbekistan, Islam Abduganiyevich Karimov, ul. Uzbekistanskaya 43, Rezidentsia prezidenta, 700163 Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan, Fax: +998 71 133 1395325, E-mail: presidents_office@press-service.uz
• Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Vladimir Norov, Respublika Uzbekistan; 700029 g. Tashkent; pl. Mustakillik, 5; Ministerstvo inostrannykh del RU, S.S., Uzbekistan, Fax: + 998 71 139 15 17, E-mail: rnews@mfa.uz
• Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights, Sayora Rashidova, ul. Xalqlar Dostligi 1, 700035 Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan, Fax: +998 71 139 85 55, E-mail: office@ombudsman.gov.uz
• Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Ubaydulla Mingbaev, Respublika Uzbekistan; 700183 g. Tashkent; ul. Abdulla Kodiri, 1; Verkhovny Sud Respubliki Uzbekistan, Fax: + 998 71 144-62-93
• General Prosecutor of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Rashidjon Hamidovich Kodirov, ul. Gulyamova 66, 700047 Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan, Fax: +998 71 133 39 17, E-mail: prokuratura@lawyer.com
• National Centre for Human Rights, Senator Akmal Saidov Natsionalny tsentr po pravam cheloveka, 5/3, Mustakillik Maidoni, g. Tashkent, Respublika Uzbekistan. 700029, Fax: + 998 71 139 13 56 / 45 16, E-mail: office@nchr.uz
• Ambassador of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the United Nations in Geneva, PO Box 1853, 1215 Geneva 15, Switzerland, Fax: +4122 799 43 02, E-mail: uzbekistan@bluewin.ch

Please also write to the diplomatic representations of Uzbekistan in your respective countries.

***

Paris - Geneva, December 11, 2007

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:
Email : Appeals@fidh-omct.org
Tel et fax FIDH : + 33 1 43 55 55 05 / 33 1 43 55 18 80
Tel et fax OMCT : +41 22 809 49 39 / 41 22 809 49 29

[1] See Observatory Urgent Appeal UZB 001 / 0306 / OBS 026.3, issued on December 7, 2007.