Concern for safety of Uzbek human rights defender and family
9 June 2005
The health of Mutabar Tadjibaeva, chairperson of the human rights organization, Fiery Hearts Club, detained for seven months in the psychiatric unit of a women’s detention center is rapidly deteriorating, and harassment against her family has intensified, Front Line has learned.
Mutabar Tadjibaeva was last seen by her family on 9 January 2007, despite their numerous attempts to visit her in detention. According to Mutabar Tadjibaeva’s brother Rasul Tadjibaev and daughter Mahliyo Akramova, she has lost about twenty-five kilograms and is suffering from kidney-related illness caused by the cold conditions in solitary confinement. The chief physician of the women's prison stating has denied her health is deteriorating and is reported to have said ‘she is in good health’.
Rasul Tadjibaev is under constant surveillance by the authorities and was evicted from his apartment on 22 March 2007 and since warned that if he continues to protest against his sister's detention it will be difficult for him to continue to work and he will be expelled from Tashkent.
Mahliyo Akramova has been followed by plainclothes individuals believed to be law enforcement agents and has reportedly been threatened that if she travels to Tashkent again to see her mother then she will be killed.
Mutabar Tadjibaeva is one of the founders of the national movement Civil Society and a 2005 Nobel Peace Prize nominee. Mutabar Tadjibaeva has monitored human rights violations in the Ferghana Valley over many years and has reported on issues such as the violations of women’s rights to the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), an international non-governmental organization that trains journalists in human rights reporting. Mutabar Tadjibaeva was due to attend an international conference on human rights defenders in Dublin on 8 October 2005 hosted by Front Line. However, she was detained on 7 October when she was scheduled to fly to Tashkent. On 6 March 2006 she was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment.
Front Line is deeply concerned that Mutabar Tadjibaeva is not receiving adequate medical treatment and believes she has been detained and subjected to ill treatment due to her legitimate and peaceful activities in defence of human rights. Front Line is also concerned for the safety of Mutabar Tadjibaeva's family, in particular her brother Rasul Tadjibaev and her daughter Mahliyo Akramova who have both been vocal in calling for her release.