Uzbekistan: release of student, Marsel Isaev

Case UZB 201005.1 - Update to Case UZB 201005

Release

Geneva, 1st November 2005

The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Uzbekistan.

New Information

The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights (KCHR), a member of the network, that Mr. Marsel Isaev has been released.

According to the information received, he was detained by Uzbek security forces when he arrived in Uzbekistan and was taken to the Department of Internal Affairs of Tashkent where he was detained. During his detention he was reportedly questioned about his alleged membership of Hizb-ut-Tahrir and contact with other suspected members. Marsel Isaev denied having any connection with the organisation. He was reportedly asked to sign an undertaking not to leave the country, although he has reportedly not been informed of any charges brought against him.

Brief reminder of the situation

The International Secretariat of OMCT was informed by the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights (KCHR), a member of the network, of the disappearance of Mr. Marsel Isaev, following his arrival at Tashkent airport after being deported from Russia.

According to the information received, Mr. Marsel Isaev, 19 years old, a student from Uzbekistan, was deported from Kazan after refusing to testify that he was a member of a forbidden party “Hizb-ut-tahrir”. As a result, his passport was withdrawn from him and he was deported.

On the morning of 12th October, on the day that Marsel Isaev was to be deported from Russia, the Human Rights Representative of the Russian Federation, Mr. Vladimir Lukin, filed a request with the Commissioner for human rights in Uzbekistan, Saier Rashidova, that Mr. Isaev be allowed to enter Uzbekistan freely. However, friends of Mr. Isaev who went to meet him off his flight could not find him at the airport on the day he was supposed to arrive from Kazan, even though the security service at Tashkent airport confirmed that Mr. Isaev had passed through customs.

OMCT had feared that Mr. Isaev was arrested by Uzbek special services upon his arrival in Tashkent. According to the information received, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, A. N. Kirichenko, had previously threatened to falsely inform the Uzbek special services of Mr. Isaev’s membership to the organisation “Hizb-ut-tahrir”.

According to the information received, Mr. Isaev had previously applied and been granted refugee status prior to his disappearance by the Office of migration of the Republic of Tatarstan.

Remarks

The International Secretariat of OMCT wishes to thank the individuals and institutions who intervened on behalf of Mr. Marsel Isaev. However, OMCT is concerned that Mr. Marsel Isaev may be at risk of re-arrest.

Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Uzbekistan urging them to:
i. Order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of his detention, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
ii. Guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with 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
  
• 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, 1st November 2005

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