Umida Akhmedova
Umida Akhmedova, a photographer and documentary filmmaker, was found guilty of slandering and insulting the Uzbek people, in a case that has stirred outrage in artistic circles throughout the region.
There was a fear of going to prison. But to tell you the truth, I feel insulted, that’s the main thing. I still don’t understand how my creative work could have brought me to this courtroom.
Umida Akhmedova is a film-maker and photographer who concentrates her work on gender issues and human rights. She is married to filmmaker Oleg Karpov and her son Timur Karpov is also a photographer and works for the Lenta.Ru press agency. In 2010 she was convicted of "slander of the Uzbek nation" after making a documentary.
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.
