Nobody Safe From Jail – Uzbek Activist

A leading opposition activist in Uzbekistan says the seven-year jail term handed down to one of her colleagues is typical of the way the government continues to treats dissidents.

Azamat Azimov, a member of the Shahrisabz branch of the opposition movement Birdamlik was sentenced on July 28, after being convicted of growing and possessing narcotics with the aim of selling them.

The head of Birdamlik’s Tashkent office, Dilorom Iskhakova, told NBCentralAsia that such damaging charges were often brought against opposition activists as a way of smearing them.

NBCentralAsia: What is the real reason for Azamat Azimov’s imprisonment?

Dilorom Iskhakova: His arrest and the seven-year sentence result from his political activities. He was an activist with Birdamlik in the Kashkadarya province.

He did a lot of work towards the congress our movement held [in autumn 2009], and that was when it all started. He came to the attention of the security service. Everything that happened prior to his arrest proves that this is the case – his house, his family, and he himself were placed under surveillance, and relatives were intimidated.

Azimov’s case once again confirms my view that human rights activists and members of the political opposition will always be imprisoned under “unpleasant” articles that people will not happy to hear about – drug trafficking, for example. This also happened to journalist and human rights activist Solijon Abdurahmonov. Fraud charges are also used; these formed the basis for manufactured cases against Aghzam Turghunov and Aghzam Farmonov.

The authorities will always portray activists and human rights defenders as fraudsters or drug dealers.

But we all know that Azamat Azimov was never a drug dealer; he never engaged in such things. Shahrisabz is a very small town. If Azimov had been involved in the drug trade, he would have been arrested very quickly and everybody would have known about it.

People involved in drug trafficking aren’t usually poor. Azamat, however, had very limited funds; I would even say his family was fairly poor.

His case, then, has to do with his political activity. The fact that every rule of criminal procedure was broken during his arrest indicates that his case was fabricated. He was detained by police officers in one district, sent to a police station in another district, and tried in a third.

He was under investigation for four months, and throughout that period no one – not even his lawyers – could say what was happening to him or what state he was in.

The police intimidated his family and friends so much that they turned down our attempts to contact them. When a Birdamlik member came to Azimov’s house, his family wouldn’t open the door to him and said they’d been warned that if they appealed to human rights activists or published anything, or if there was any public reaction, the authorities would ensure Azimov stayed in prison. If they behaved well and kept silent, police would release him. The family believed them and did as they were told. But Azamat got seven years in prison.

NBCentralAsia: When did Azimov join Birdamlik?

Iskhakova: It’s nearly two years since he joined the Birdamlik movement. He was very active last November, and that was when he came to the attention of the security service. And now we see the consequences.

NBCentralAsia: What will other Birdamlik activists and other human rights defenders in Uzbekistan do in the wake of this sentence? Is there a danger that other arrests will follow?

Iskhakova: Of course, arrests will continue, but they’re unlikely to frighten anyone as the situation in Uzbekistan is so clear – if you’re an activist or a member of any opposition party or movement, you may face the same as Azimov. None of us is immune. For example, I have been convicted twice of fabricated charges – once for allegedly trying to mount a coup, and then for allegedly intending to commit murder. Anyone who hasn’t been convicted yet will ultimately face it.

This shows how political activists are persecuted for holding dissident views, for fighting for justice. But we will continue our work.

This article was produced as part of IWPR’s News Briefing Central Asia output, funded by the National Endowment for Democracy.