detained

Gopen Chandra Sharma a District Human Rights Monitor (DHRM) with the “National Project on Preventing Torture in India: From Public Awareness to State Accountability”, was arrested in West Bengal on 12 June 2007.  

Zeinab Peyqambarzadeh a human rights defender and leading member of the One Million Signatures Campaign was freed on 16 May 2007 after 9 days imprisonment in Evin prison and having paid a bail sum of 20, 000, 000 Iranian Toman  

Umida Niyazova, Uzbek journalist and human rights defender, was arrested on 22 January 2007 and taken to the pre-trial detention unit in the Uzbek city of Andijan. She was detained for four days before being handed over to the Office for Prosecution of Transport Offences in Tashkent on 26 January. On 21 December 2006, Niyazova's computer and passport were confiscated upon her arrival from Kyrgyzstan to the Tashkent airport in Uzbekistan. The customs officials said her computer contained illegal material. She was forced to flee Uzbekistan. Umida Niyazova turned to the UN in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) for protection. The Kyrgyz immigration services registered her as a person in need of protection. She was informed that all charges against her would be dropped on her return to Uzbekistan; however, she was arrested upon her arrival. The Office for Prosecution of Transport Offences in Uzbekistan initiated a criminal case against Niyazova for violation of articles 233 ("illegal border-crossing") and 246 ("illegal transportation of information material") of the criminal code. Umida Niyazova has worked for CJES since 2000 and with the Central Asian Internet magazine "Oasis" since 2005.  

Mutabar Tadjibaeva es la Presidenta de la organización de derechos humanos Fiery Hearts Club, que tiene su base en la ciudad de Ferghana, en Uzbekistán. Es también una de las fundadoras del movimiento nacional Civil Society y fue nominada al Premio Nobel de la Paz en el 2005. Tadjibaeva ha monitoreado violaciones de los derechos humanos en el valle de Ferghana y ha elaborado informes sobre asuntos como la violación de los derechos de la mujer para el Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), una organización internacional no gubernamental que capacita a periodistas en el área de los derechos humanos. Mutabar Tadjibaeva debía asistir a una conferencia internacional sobre defensores de los derechos humanos en Dublín, en octubre del 2005, ofrecida por Front Line. Fue detenida el 7 de octubre, cuando tenía previsto volar a Tashkent para tomar un vuelo de conexión a Irlanda. El 6 de marzo del 2006, Tadjibaeva fue condenada a ocho años de prisión. Posteriormente, fue trasladada a un hospital psiquiátrico. Según se ha informado, la salud de Mutabar Tadjibaeva se ha deteriorado seriamente, sufre de baja presión arterial y tiene problemas de riñón.  

Human rights defender, Umida Niyazova arrested on 21 January 2007 has been charged by the Uzbek Transport Prosecutor’s Office with committing crimes under three articles of the Uzbek Criminal Code, Front Line has learned.

The investigation into her case and sent to court and charges she faces include: “Illegally entering or illegally leaving the Republic of Uzbekistan”, “preparing and distributing material which poses a threat to the public security and the public order” and “smuggling”.

Initially, Niyazova was charged under two articles of the Criminal Code – article 223 and Article 246, but during the investigation she was also charged under the third article – Article 244.

Umida Niyazova’s brother Rustam Niyazov has also confirmed that the investigation into Niyazova’s case was completed and said that her family learnt about the charges on 06 April 2007.