Human rights defenders in Uzbekistan continue to be systematically persecuted. Torture, ill-treatment, arbitrary detention, fabricated prosecutions, imprisonment and excessive force are used by law enforcement officials to prevent human rights defenders from carrying out their legitimate and peaceful work in defence of human rights. The severity of the repression has contributed to a number of human rights defenders being forced to go into exile. Human rights defenders and independant journalists continue to face physical attacks, which remain unpunished. Serious obstacles to freedom of peaceful assembly persist. Demonstrations in favour of human rights regularly give rise to large scale arrests, followed by questioning and accompanied by intimidation, threats and physical violence.

One of the strategies used to silence human rights defenders is to impose upon many of them excessive prison sentences. The UN Human Rights Committee, which considered the third periodic report of Uzbekistan in March 2010, expressed its concern “about the number of representatives of independent NGOs, journalists, and human rights defenders imprisoned, assaulted, harassed or intimidated, because of the exercise of their profession and about the absence of sufficient investigations on all alleged assaults, threats, or acts of harassment of journalists and human rights defenders''. In December 2008, during the third session of the Universal Periodic Review, Uzbekistan faced serious criticism from many delegations at the Human Rights Council, particularly for the detention of human rights defenders.

There are grave concerns for the health conditions of several human rights defenders currently in detention. The situation in Uzbek detention facilities is in general very poor and the conditions for human rights defenders in particular are a cause for concern. According to reports by human rights activists and relatives of prisoners, prisons are overcrowded and tuberculosis and hepatitis are endemic, making even short periods of incarceration potentially life threatening. In November 2007 the UN Committee Against Torture expressed its concern about the number of allegations of torture in prisons, the perpetrators of which enjoy total impunity. Despite repeated requests, the Uzbek authorities have taken no measures to release from prison, for medical reasons, human rights defenders whose health conditions were severely deteriorating, or even just to provide them with adequate medical treatment.

URGENT CASES

Uzbekistan: Fear for safety of HRD Ms Gulshan Karayeva and her family, in wake of physical attack followed by series of threats and intimidation

Post date: 2012/05/22

On 21 May 2012, an unidentified man pursued and chased Ms Gulshan Karayeva in Qarshi, as she went to buy food for her children. She managed to escape to a nearby street where people she knew lived.

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Uzbekistan: Human rights defenders Mr Uktam Pardayev and Mr Mamir Azimov denied exit visas

Post date: 2012/05/10

On 18 March 2012, Mr Uktam Pardayev was refused an exit visa from Uzbekistan. On 29 March 2012, Mr Mamir Azimov was temporarily refused an exit visa; to date no new information has been received on his application.

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