Uzbekistan
03.12.04
Urgent Interventions
Uzbekistan: Ill-treatment and harassment of HRSU president and his wife
URGENT APPEAL – THE OBSERVATORY
UZB 001 / 1204 / OBS 092
Ill-treatment / Harassment
UZBEKISTAN
December 3, 2004
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of FIDH and OMCT, requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Uzbekistan.
Description of the situation:
The Observatory has been informed by the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan (HRSU) of acts of harassment and ill-treatment against Mr. Tolib Yakubov, President of the HRSU, and his wife, Mrs. Tursunoï Yakubova.
According to the information received, on November 20, 2004, Mr. Yakubov sent a letter to the Regional Prosecutor of Djizak and to the General Prosecutor of Uzbekistan, informing them that he would organise a picket on November 29, 2004, in front of the regional administration (Hokimiat) building in order to protest against impunity of violations perpetrated by the police and law enforcement bodies, as well as against the arbitrariness of some legal procedures opened by the prosecutor’s office.
On November 28, 2004 in the evening, two members of the Hokimiat came to Mr. And Mrs. Yacubov’s home and stayed there for four hours, in order to convince them not to organise the picket or to delay it. In the morning of November 29, at 7.00 am, two other men came to their house to convince them to postpone it as well.
However, Mr. Yakubov refused and on November 29, 2004, as they were heading to the Hokimiat building, their car was stopped near their house. A police officer took the keys of the car and confiscated some posters Mrs. Yakubova was holding. They forced them out of the car and interrogated them on their activity. Approximately 250 meters away from the Hokimiat building, two other men, looking like militiamen, attacked them, and threw Mr. Yakubov to the ground. He was kicked very violently on his feet and on his chest. One of the men also took all the remaining posters from Mrs. Yakubova.
As they left, Mr. Yakubov managed to stand up in order to join the picket initiated by 20 persons. All streets leading to the building to which the protesters were heading had been blocked. Mr. Yakubov asked then for the authorisation to meet the Regional Prosecutor and was able to ask him, outside the building, why some of his complaints regarding cases of human rights abuses had not been taken into account by his office. The Prosecutor left the place without answering.
According to the information received, Mr. Yakubov later went to the hospital where the doctors found he had bruises on his chest.
In the evening of November 29, 2004, their house was put under surveillance by a group of militiamen.
The Observatory is very preoccupied by these new acts of reprisal against human rights defenders in Djizak. The Observatory recalls that a similar picket, organised by the HRSU in Djizak, on October 15, 2004, was violently repressed. 25 to 30 demonstrators, including members of the HRSU, had gathered in front of the Hokimiat to protest against human rights violations against farmers, perpetrated by law-enforcement bodies (see open letter of the Observatory, October 28, 2004). Some of them were beaten and arrested.
Action requested:
Please write to the Kyrgyz authorities urging them to :
i. guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. and Mrs. Yakubov in any circumstances and put an end to all acts of harassment against them;
ii. conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the attack against
them, so as to identify the persons responsible, bring them to trial, and sanction them according to the law;
iii. conform with the provisions of the Declaration on human rights defenders, adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998. In particular its article 5.a states that “For the purpose of promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to meet or assemble peacefully” and article 12§2 states that “[t]he 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”.
iv. respect fundamental freedoms provided for by international human rights standards.
Addresses:
Paris – Geneva, December 3, 2004
Kindly inform the Observatory of any action undertaken quoting the code number of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, an 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:
Tel and fax: FIDH : +33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT : (+ 41 22) 809 49 39 / 809 49 29
E-mail : observatoire@iprolink.ch
UZB 001 / 1204 / OBS 092
Ill-treatment / Harassment
UZBEKISTAN
December 3, 2004
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of FIDH and OMCT, requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Uzbekistan.
Description of the situation:
The Observatory has been informed by the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan (HRSU) of acts of harassment and ill-treatment against Mr. Tolib Yakubov, President of the HRSU, and his wife, Mrs. Tursunoï Yakubova.
According to the information received, on November 20, 2004, Mr. Yakubov sent a letter to the Regional Prosecutor of Djizak and to the General Prosecutor of Uzbekistan, informing them that he would organise a picket on November 29, 2004, in front of the regional administration (Hokimiat) building in order to protest against impunity of violations perpetrated by the police and law enforcement bodies, as well as against the arbitrariness of some legal procedures opened by the prosecutor’s office.
On November 28, 2004 in the evening, two members of the Hokimiat came to Mr. And Mrs. Yacubov’s home and stayed there for four hours, in order to convince them not to organise the picket or to delay it. In the morning of November 29, at 7.00 am, two other men came to their house to convince them to postpone it as well.
However, Mr. Yakubov refused and on November 29, 2004, as they were heading to the Hokimiat building, their car was stopped near their house. A police officer took the keys of the car and confiscated some posters Mrs. Yakubova was holding. They forced them out of the car and interrogated them on their activity. Approximately 250 meters away from the Hokimiat building, two other men, looking like militiamen, attacked them, and threw Mr. Yakubov to the ground. He was kicked very violently on his feet and on his chest. One of the men also took all the remaining posters from Mrs. Yakubova.
As they left, Mr. Yakubov managed to stand up in order to join the picket initiated by 20 persons. All streets leading to the building to which the protesters were heading had been blocked. Mr. Yakubov asked then for the authorisation to meet the Regional Prosecutor and was able to ask him, outside the building, why some of his complaints regarding cases of human rights abuses had not been taken into account by his office. The Prosecutor left the place without answering.
According to the information received, Mr. Yakubov later went to the hospital where the doctors found he had bruises on his chest.
In the evening of November 29, 2004, their house was put under surveillance by a group of militiamen.
The Observatory is very preoccupied by these new acts of reprisal against human rights defenders in Djizak. The Observatory recalls that a similar picket, organised by the HRSU in Djizak, on October 15, 2004, was violently repressed. 25 to 30 demonstrators, including members of the HRSU, had gathered in front of the Hokimiat to protest against human rights violations against farmers, perpetrated by law-enforcement bodies (see open letter of the Observatory, October 28, 2004). Some of them were beaten and arrested.
Action requested:
Please write to the Kyrgyz authorities urging them to :
i. guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. and Mrs. Yakubov in any circumstances and put an end to all acts of harassment against them;
ii. conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the attack against
them, so as to identify the persons responsible, bring them to trial, and sanction them according to the law;
iii. conform with the provisions of the Declaration on human rights defenders, adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998. In particular its article 5.a states that “For the purpose of promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to meet or assemble peacefully” and article 12§2 states that “[t]he 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”.
iv. respect fundamental freedoms provided for by international human rights standards.
Addresses:
- President of Uzbekistan, Islam Abduganiyevich Karimov, ul. Uzbekistanskaya 43, Rezidentsia prezidenta, 700163 Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan, Fax: +998 71 133 7258, E-mail: presidents_office@press-service.uz
- Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sodiq Solihovich Safoyev, Respublika Uzbekistan; 700029 g. Tashkent; pl. Mustakillik, 5; Ministerstvo inostrannykh del RU, S.S., Uzbekistan, Fax: + 998 71 139 15 17
- 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
- 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
- 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
Paris – Geneva, December 3, 2004
Kindly inform the Observatory of any action undertaken quoting the code number of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, an 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:
Tel and fax: FIDH : +33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT : (+ 41 22) 809 49 39 / 809 49 29
E-mail : observatoire@iprolink.ch