Uzbekistan
15.10.04
Urgent Interventions
Uzbekistan: Incommunicado Detention / Risk of Torture
Case UZB 151004
Incommunicado Detention / Risk of Torture
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Uzbekistan.
Brief Description of the Situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights, a member of OMCT network, of the arrest and incommunicado detention of Mr. Abdukadir Usupov (38) in Uzbekistan.
According to the information received, on September 27th 2004, Mr. Abdukadir Usupov, a resident of Tashkent Oblast, did not return home after a trip to Tashkent City by his own vehicle. His wife, Shohida Usupova, set out to search for her husband’s whereabouts. Three days later, she found out that Mr. Abdukadir Usupov was held in the National Security Trial Centre in Tashkent City.
It is reported that Mr. Abdukadir Usupov is charged with undermining the constitutional basis of the Republic of Uzbekistan (according to art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan); with composing and distributing materials that present a public threat (according to article 244-1 of the Criminal Code), and with establishing, leading or participating in extremist religious, separatist or fundamentalist organizations (according to article 244-2 of the Criminal Code). All these charges should be seen in the light of the fact that Mr. Abdukadir Usupov is allegedly accused of being a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir.
Reportedly, following the recommendation of Initiative Group of Independent Human Rights Defenders of Uzbekistan, Mr. Rustam Tulyaganov, a lawyer, was asked to attend the investigation process but he was denied access to the detainee.
According to the information received, torture is routinely practiced on the detainees in the National Security Service Trial Centre. In 2003, Mr. Abdukadir Usupov had already been once arrested and detained for ten days by National Security Service agents.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is deeply concerned about the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Abdukadir Usupov. Furthermore, OMCT is concerned by the fact that access to legal assistance is being denied to him. OMCT recalls that article 2.1 of the Convention against Torture, and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, to which Uzbekistan is a State party, requires that “each State Party shall take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction”. Furthermore, article 11 of the same Convention requires that “each State Party shall keep under systematic review interrogation rules, instructions, methods and practices as well as arrangements for the custody and treatment of persons subjected to any form of arrest, detention or imprisonment in any territory under its jurisdiction, with a view to preventing any cases of torture”. Finally, according to article 14.3 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Uzbekistan is equally a State party, everyone subjected to criminal charges is entitled, among other minimum guarantees, “to defend himself in person or through legal assistance of his own choosing “.
Therefore, OMCT urges the authorities in Uzbekistan to take all the measures necessary to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Abdukadir Usupov and to ensure that he will undergo a fair trial, in which statements made as a result of torture will not be invoked as evidence against him.
Action requested:
Please write to the authorities in Uzbekistan urging them to:
i. take all the measures necessary to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Abdukadir Usupov;
ii. ensure that his right to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law would be respected and that his procedural rights be respected;
iii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with international human rights standards.
Adresses:
Please also write to the embassies of Uzbekistan in your respective country.
Geneva, October 15th 2004
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Incommunicado Detention / Risk of Torture
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Uzbekistan.
Brief Description of the Situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights, a member of OMCT network, of the arrest and incommunicado detention of Mr. Abdukadir Usupov (38) in Uzbekistan.
According to the information received, on September 27th 2004, Mr. Abdukadir Usupov, a resident of Tashkent Oblast, did not return home after a trip to Tashkent City by his own vehicle. His wife, Shohida Usupova, set out to search for her husband’s whereabouts. Three days later, she found out that Mr. Abdukadir Usupov was held in the National Security Trial Centre in Tashkent City.
It is reported that Mr. Abdukadir Usupov is charged with undermining the constitutional basis of the Republic of Uzbekistan (according to art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan); with composing and distributing materials that present a public threat (according to article 244-1 of the Criminal Code), and with establishing, leading or participating in extremist religious, separatist or fundamentalist organizations (according to article 244-2 of the Criminal Code). All these charges should be seen in the light of the fact that Mr. Abdukadir Usupov is allegedly accused of being a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir.
Reportedly, following the recommendation of Initiative Group of Independent Human Rights Defenders of Uzbekistan, Mr. Rustam Tulyaganov, a lawyer, was asked to attend the investigation process but he was denied access to the detainee.
According to the information received, torture is routinely practiced on the detainees in the National Security Service Trial Centre. In 2003, Mr. Abdukadir Usupov had already been once arrested and detained for ten days by National Security Service agents.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is deeply concerned about the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Abdukadir Usupov. Furthermore, OMCT is concerned by the fact that access to legal assistance is being denied to him. OMCT recalls that article 2.1 of the Convention against Torture, and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, to which Uzbekistan is a State party, requires that “each State Party shall take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction”. Furthermore, article 11 of the same Convention requires that “each State Party shall keep under systematic review interrogation rules, instructions, methods and practices as well as arrangements for the custody and treatment of persons subjected to any form of arrest, detention or imprisonment in any territory under its jurisdiction, with a view to preventing any cases of torture”. Finally, according to article 14.3 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Uzbekistan is equally a State party, everyone subjected to criminal charges is entitled, among other minimum guarantees, “to defend himself in person or through legal assistance of his own choosing “.
Therefore, OMCT urges the authorities in Uzbekistan to take all the measures necessary to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Abdukadir Usupov and to ensure that he will undergo a fair trial, in which statements made as a result of torture will not be invoked as evidence against him.
Action requested:
Please write to the authorities in Uzbekistan urging them to:
i. take all the measures necessary to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Abdukadir Usupov;
ii. ensure that his right to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law would be respected and that his procedural rights be respected;
iii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with international human rights standards.
Adresses:
- 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
- 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 embassies of Uzbekistan in your respective country.
Geneva, October 15th 2004
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.