Front Line is profoundly concerned by reports received concerning the continued detention and deteriorating health condition of human rights defender, Mr Alisher Karamatov, who has been detained since June 2006 and has been denied necessary medical treatment. Alisher Karamatov is the Chairperson of the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan (HRSU), Mirzaabad region. He has served two years of a nine year sentence for “extortion” following a trial which international observers defined as “deeply flawed” and “unfair”.

Further Information

On 9 December 2008, Front Line learned that Alisher Karamatov´s wife received a medical report from the Medical Director of Tashkent Hospital which stated that Alisher Karamatov has tuberculosis and that blood has been detected in both of his affected lungs. The report also stated that he has been diagnosed with second degree muscular dystrophy and defined his medical condition as “serious”. On 15 November 2008, his wife, Namuna Karamatova, was allowed to visit him in the Tashkent Prison. She reported that Alisher Karamatov´s weight had fallen from 115 kg to 60 kg while in prison and that he was having great difficulty walking. On 12 October 2008, Alisher Karamatov was transferred from Karashi Prison camp to Tashkent Hospital after he began to spit blood. Alisher Karamatov has been returned to his cell from the prison hospital. He is reportedly still coughing blood and his wife fears that he may die if he does not receive adequate treatment.

In April 2006, Alisher Karamatov was arrested along with Azam Farmonov, Chairperson of the HRSU Syrdaria regional branch, as they defended the rights of local farmers who had accused corrupt local officials of malpractice, extortion and corruption. They were held incommunicado for a week and allegedly being subjected to beatings and torture during this time in order to force them to sign confessions. The two men were charged with extortion in May 2006, and were subsequently subjected to an reportedly unfair trial in which neither had a defence lawyer. Both were sentenced to nine years´ imprisonment.

Front Line believes that the imprisonment of Alisher Karamatov and Azam Farmonov is directly related to their work in defence of human rights, and that this forms part of an ongoing campaign against human rights defenders in Uzbekistan.