Campaign for Gulbahor Turayeva

Gulbahor Turayeva, pathologist and human rights activist, 44, from Andijan. On 14 January 2007 Gulbahor Turayeva was arrested while she was crossing the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border at the Dustlik post. Uzbek customs officers found press material published by the opposition Erk party in her bag. Her husband Farid Yangildin has said that Gulbahor Turayeva was carrying 123 books, some of which written by the chairman of the Erk party, Muhammad Solih. After the detention Turayeva spent two days under arrest at the Andijan Region customs department and was sent to a National Security Service detention centre on 16 January. Gulbahor Turayeva’s house in Andijan was examined the same day and her family members were told that a criminal case had been launched against her under Article 159 of the Criminal Code (attempting to overthrow the constitutional system). The chairman of the Erk party, Muhammad Solih, has said that he is very disappointed by what happened to Gulbahor Turayeva, but stressed that she is a human rights activist sympathising with opposition and sharing its views. Gulbahor Turayeva, a pathologist, is a mother of four. During the detention she was with her nine-year-old son Shamsy who spent one night with her in custody. Her youngest child is only six months old.