UZBEKISTAN DENIES ACCREDITATION TO HUMAN RIGHTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TASHKENT 001146 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN AND DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/18/2017 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL UZ SUBJECT: UZBEKISTAN DENIES ACCREDITATION TO HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH AMCIT JUNIOR STAFFER REF: A. TASHKENT 782 ¶B. TASHKENT 830 ¶C. TASHKENT 927 ¶D. TASHKENT 1061 Classified By: CDA BRAD HANSON, FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D) ¶1. (U) This cable contains an action request. See para. 6. ¶2. (C) Summary: On June 14, the Ministry of Justice denied accreditation to Human Rights Watch's (HRW) newly arrived junior expatriate staff member. Unless the Government reverses its decision, HRW will be left without any accredited expatriate staff and severely crippled in trying to operate normally. The Government has denied accreditation to three HRW staffers in the last two years, most recently to German citizen Andrea Berg. That denial was reversed, however, after interventions by the German Ambassador and the Chairman in Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Post intends to protest this latest action as contradictory to Uzbekistan's declared intention to uphold its international human rights commitments. We plan to encourage others to do so as well, and ask that the Department raise the issue with the Uzbek Embassy. End Summary. ¶3. (C) On June 14, Ministry of Justice officials summoned HRW's Amcit junior staffer to the Ministry and informed her that her application for accreditation had been denied. The employee arrived in Tashkent only one month ago, having already waited over one year for a visa. A letter from the Ministry gave no reason for the accreditation denial, and the staffer told Charge and Poloff that she asked them three times during the meeting for some justification of the action, to no avail. The staffer said that she intends to remain in Uzbekistan until her three-month visa expires in late July, unless the authorities either instruct her to leave sooner, or until the government reverses its decision. ¶4. (C) In April, the Ministry of Justice refused to renew the accreditation of HRW's office director, German citizen Andrea Berg (ref A). However, after interventions by the German Ambassador and the Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE),the Government quickly reversed its decision, granting Berg a three-month extension (ref B). This decision came shortly before the European Union's May 14 decision to prolong its sanctions against Uzbekistan, and Western diplomats in Tashkent viewed the move as a political gesture aimed at the EU. Berg left Uzbekistan shortly after the sanctions decision, convinced that she would soon be expelled in any case. Also shortly before the sanctions decision, a Tashkent court released former local staffer Umida Niyazova from custody on probation, overturning the seven-year prison sentence handed down by a lower court on charges of distributing subversive literature and illegal border crossing (ref C). However, Niyazova's criminal conviction remains on her record, and she is prohibited from working for HRW. Since Berg's departure, the HRW office has been run by temporary staffers from Georgia and Russia who do not need visas to enter Uzbekistan (ref D). However, they do not have accreditation and are not authorized to represent HRW here. Until the organization identifies a new expatriate office director, and until that person receives a visa, HRW's Tashkent office will exist in name only. ¶5. (C) Comment: The Uzbek Government has had HRW in its crosshairs for two years and has leveled at the organization numerous accusations of violating Uzbek law, distributing biased and inaccurate reports about alleged human rights abuses, and interfering in the country's internal affairs. This is the third time in two years that the Ministry of Justice has denied accreditation to an expatriate staffer. Without accredited expatriate staff, the organization is incapable of operating normally. On several occasions Post has pointed out to Uzbek officials that HRW's actions here are no different from its work in other countries, and that no country is immune to criticism of its human rights record. Nevertheless, the Government has pursued a consistent policy of attacking those who criticize Uzbekistan's human rights practices. Post plans to protest the Government's actions against HRW yet again, noting that these actions undermine the Government's stated aim of upholding its international TASHKENT 00001146 002 OF 002 human rights commitments. By denying accreditation to the only permanent expat staff left in Tashkent, the Government has effectively--and, we think, intentionally--gutted HRW's work in Uzbekistan. ¶6. (C) ACTION REQUEST: Amcit HRW staffer informed Charge and Poloff on June 15 that HRW would fight the denial of accreditation and would be seeking support from the Department and EU to try and reverse the denial. Charge and Poloff will raise the issue with key EU member states' representatives in Tashkent to encourage the EU to raise the issue with the Foreign Ministry. Post asks Department also to raise the issue with the Uzbek Embassy. HANSON