Human rights in Uzbekistan

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Template:Politics of Uzbekistan The human rights record of Uzbekistan reflects its status as a nominal democracy but having been frequently described as a police state. Several prominent opponents of the government have fled, and among those who have remain, some have been arrested. The government severely represses those it suspects of Islamic extremism, particularly those it suspects of membership in the banned Party of Islamic Liberation (Hizb ut-Tahrir). Some 5,300 to 5,800 suspected extremists are incarcerated.

In May 2005, several hundred demonstrators were killed after Uzbek troops fired into a crowd protesting against the imprisonment of 23 local businessmen. (For further details, see May 2005 unrest in Uzbekistan.)

1 Freedom of expression
2 Freedom of religion
3 Political freedoms
4 Crackdown on Islamic fundamentalism
5 External links

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Freedom of expression

In the area of freedom of expression, the Karimov regime maintains an iron grip on the country's media. State media routinely black out coverage of bombings by Islamic insurgents while foreign journalists and media outlets are harassed for reporting on growing unrest. Authorities also block Web sites that provide independent news, including those of Arena and the new Uzbek-language BBC.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Uzbekistan is the leading jailer of journalists in Europe and Central Asia, with four behind bars as of December 2004. Reporters Without Borders says the fight against terrorism is used as an excuse by authorities to step up their crackdown on independent media.

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Freedom of religion

Uzbekistan does not allow religious communities to practice their faith freely. The government requires all religious communities to have official registration before they can function. All unregistered religious activity is banned and is penalised heavily. Registration is arbitrarily denied to religious communities the government does not like, thus rendering their members liable to punishment. Spreading one's faith is also banned, while all religious literature printed in or imported into Uzbekistan is subject to compulsory prior censorship.

As Forum 18 has reported, unregistered religious services are frequently raided by police, with participants being beaten, fined, threatened and intimidated, while religious literature is often confiscated and may be destroyed. [1]

Two members of the Bethany Protestant Church in Tashkent have already been punished for "illegally" teaching their faith, while six others – including Pastor Nikolai Shevchenko – are due to face trial next month for leading an unregistered religious organization. The church has repeatedly been denied registration in a district of the city where mosques are also banned.

On June 10, 2005 a criminal court sentenced Nail Kalinkin to 15 days in prison and fined his wife, Marina, the equivalent of $68. They were found guilty of expounding the meaning of biblical texts. Uniformed and plain clothes police officers burst into the Bethany Church during the Sunday service June 12. The authorities cut short the service, saying that the church could not meet there any more. They demanded the pastors write statements explaining the reason for the meeting.

When interrogations began, Shevchenko asked for an attorney to be present. "Those at the police station answered us that they required neither lawyer nor summons, because all they needed was to destroy us," he said. He has been repeatedly fined since 2000 for leading an unregistered religious community. In 2001, he was accused of unlawful religious activity and faced criminal charges, but the case was closed after pressure from the international community.

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Political freedoms

Despite extensive constitutional protections, the Karimov government has actively suppressed the activities rights of political movements, continues to ban unsanctioned public meetings and demonstrations, and continues to suppress opposition figures. The repression reduces constructive opposition even when institutional changes have been made. In the mid-1990s, legislation established significant rights for independent trade unions, separate from the government, and enhanced individual rights; but enforcement is uneven, and the role of the state security services remains central.

With the exception of sporadic liberalization, all opposition movements and independent media are essentially banned in Uzbekistan. The early 1990s were characterized by arrests and beatings of opposition figures on fabricated charges. For example, one prominent Uzbek, Ibrahim Bureyev, was arrested in 1994 after announcing plans to form a new opposition party. After reportedly being freed just before the March referendum, Bureyev shortly thereafter was arrested again on a charge of possessing illegal firearms and drugs. In April 1995, fewer than two weeks after the referendum extending President Karimov's term, six dissidents were sentenced to prison for distributing the party newspaper of Erk and inciting the overthrow of Karimov. Members of opposition groups have been harassed by Uzbekistan's secret police as far away as Moscow.

On January 12, 2006, as part of a crackdown on unauthorized nongovernmental organizations, the Uzbek government ordered the human rights group Freedom House to suspend operations in Uzbekistan. Resource and Information Centers managed by Freedom House in Tashkent, Namangan, and Samarkand offered access to materials and books on human rights, as well as technical equipment, such as computers, copiers and Internet. The government warned that criminal proceedings could be brought against Uzbek staff members and visitors following recent amendments to the criminal code and Code on Administrative Liability of Uzbekistan. Other human rights groups have been similarly threatened and obliged to suspend operations.

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Crackdown on Islamic fundamentalism

The government severely represses those it suspects of Islamic extremism. Some 6,000 suspected members of Hizb-ut-Tahrir are incarcerated among others, and some are believed to have died over the past several years from prison disease, torture, and abuse. With few options for religious instruction, some young Muslims have turned to underground Islamic movements. The police force and the intelligence service use torture as a routine investigation technique. The government has begun to bring to trial some officers accused of torture. Four police officers and three intelligence service officers have been convicted. The government has granted amnesty to approximately 2000 political and nonpolitical prisoners over the past 2 years, but this is believed to be insignificant. In 2002 and the beginning of 2003 the government has arrested fewer suspected Islamic fundamentalists than in the past. However in May 2005, hundreds were killed by police in demonstrations in the city of Andijan.[2] Finally, in a move welcomed by the international community, the government of Uzbekistan ended prior censorship, though the media remain tightly controlled.

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