Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07TASHKENT1356
2007-07-24 03:31:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Tashkent
Cable title:  

HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER DIES AFTER APPARENT POISONING

Tags:  PHUM PGOV PINR UZ 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO0489
PP RUEHDBU
DE RUEHNT #1356/01 2050331
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 240331Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY TASHKENT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8186
INFO RUEHAH/AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT 3165
RUEHTA/AMEMBASSY ASTANA 9311
RUEHSW/AMEMBASSY BERN 0072
RUEHEK/AMEMBASSY BISHKEK 3777
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE 3639
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TASHKENT 001356 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN AND DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/24/2017
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PINR UZ
SUBJECT: HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER DIES AFTER APPARENT POISONING

Classified By: CDA BRAD HANSON FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TASHKENT 001356

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN AND DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/24/2017
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PINR UZ
SUBJECT: HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER DIES AFTER APPARENT POISONING

Classified By: CDA BRAD HANSON FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D).


1. (C) Summary: The Swiss Ambassador told Charge d'Affaires
on July 5 that a local lawyer, who was one of the Swiss
Embassy's main human rights contacts, was poisoned near the
Chorsu bazaar after an unknown assailant stabbed him with a
syringe. The lawyer died after spending several days at home
and at two area hospitals in critical condition. The lawyer
was the most active participant in the Swiss Embassy's Legal
Defense Fund and represented alleged religious extremists.
During a meeting with Poloff on July 10, the Swiss Ambassador
provided additional details and speculated about possible
motives. We can not verify that the lawyer was poisoned, but
at first glance, the symptoms and circumstances appear
consistent with such an attack. End summary.


2. (C) On July 5, Swiss Ambassador Peter Burkhard told Charge
d'Affaires that a 42-year old local lawyer named Khurshid
Azimov, who handled many of the cases funded by the Swiss
Legal Defense Fund, was poisoned recently. Reportedly,
Azimov was drinking beer with friends near the Chorsu bazaar
when an unidentified individual approached him and stabbed
him in the arm with a syringe, injecting him with an unknown
substance. Azimov was at first refused entry to several
local hospitals. After spending several days at home with
increasing symptoms, Azimov was finally admitted to a local
hospital. On July 8, Burkhard contacted the Charge again to
tell him that Azimov had died. Azimov was not a contact of
the U.S. Embassy.

APPARENT POISONING NEAR CHORSU
--------------


3. (C) During a meeting with Poloff on July 10, Burkhard
provided additional details about the case. Some time
between June 25 and June 30, Azimov was drinking beer with
friends at a restaurant near the Chorsu bazaar in Tashkent.
At some point, he felt dizzy, and as he was leaving the
restaurant, an unidentified individual approached him and
stabbed him in the arm with a syringe. Azimov did not
remember what happened next until he awoke later at home.
His wife said that several unidentified individuals brought

Azimov home in their car and told her that Azimov had
provided them with the address. Azimov speculated that his
beer may have been laced with a sedative, which enabled his
assailant to inject him with the syringe.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMPTOMS
--------------


4. (C) Burkhard said that after arriving home, Azimov tried
to visit several local hospitals, but was refused treatment.
After spending a few days at home with increasing symptoms,
including vomiting blood, Azimov was admitted to the Tashkent
First City Hospital. Burkhard said that doctors there had
difficulty giving Azimov blood transfusions, as his veins
were so constricted that they seemed to have "disappeared."
(Note: Giving blood transfusions is a standard remedy for all
types of ailments in Uzbekistan. End note.) After his
stomach became severely swollen, Azimov was transferred to
the more highly regarded Second Tashkent State Medical
Institute (TashMI II). Burkhard said that Azimov's wife
called the Swiss Embassy consular section on July 8 to report
that Azimov had died at the Institute.


5. (C) Burkhard said that the Swiss Embassy first learned on
July 5 about Azimov's condition after receiving a call from
the TashMI II Institute. Swiss Embassy staff visited Azimov
at the Institute that day and saw that he was in bad shape
and had difficulty speaking. Azimov had a large dark blue
mark, approximately 4 centimeters across, on his shoulder
with a black hole in the middle about the size of a needle
head. Doctors told the staff that Azimov was recovering
after being in critical condition for the past three to four
days. Given that the doctors had said that Azimov was
recovering, Burkhard was later surprised to hear that Azimov
had died on July 8. Azimov's wife was agitated by the
presence of the Swiss at the Institute, and Swiss officials
were not able to ask Azimov many questions. The Swiss did
not determine the exact day that Azimov was assaulted, but
surmised from what he said that it occurred between June 25
and June 30.


6. (C) On July 9, Swiss Embassy staff visited Azimov's
family, but they did not provide any additional information,
including the official cause of death. The wife downplayed
rumors that Azimov had been poisoned and instead said that he

TASHKENT 00001356 002 OF 003


had been ill for some time. Burkhard told Poloff that the
family was (obviously) scared, and perhaps were seeking to
protect Azimov's children from further retaliation.

Press Reaction
--------------


7. (C) So far, press reaction to Azimov's death has been
limited. On July 11, the Human Rights Defenders Alliance of
Uzbekistan issued an open letter to human rights defenders in
Uzbekistan about Azimov's death. The letter said that
Azimov's death was mysterious since he was always in good
health, and that he might have been poisoned. The letter
also requests Bakhrom Salamov, the head of Uzbekistan's
Lawyers Association, to conduct an independent investigation
into Azimov's death.

Biographical Information on Azimov
--------------


8. (C) Burkhard provided Poloff with additional information
on Azimov's biography and his affiliation with the Swiss
Embassy. Burkhard said that Azimov was in his mid-40s, and
had graduated from Tashkent State University's Department of
Law around 1995. Azimov was a member of the Tashkent Board
of Lawyers, and defended those accused of being "wahhabists"
or members of banned religious extremist organizations,
including Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT) and the Islamic Movement of
Uzbekistan (IMU). He also defended clients in so-called
"prison trials," in which those already convicted of being
extremists were tried again in prison shortly before their
release date, usually for organizing terrorist cells while in
prison.


9. (C) Azimov was highly sought after by defendants'
families, as he had a surprisingly strong record in getting
suspended or alternative sentences for his clients. Azimov
routinely used government religious scholars as expert
witnesses to call into question evidence provided by
prosecutors. (Note: Since conviction rates in Uzbekistan are
nearly 100 percent, the fact that Azimov was able to win
suspended or alternative sentences for his clients,
demonstrates his unusual success as a lawyer. End note.) In
addition to being a lawyer, Azimov authored approximately 15
science fiction novels, but it is unknown how many, if any,
were published.


10. (C) Burkhard said that during his early career, Azimov
was a protege of Hamid Zainutdinov, a well-known lawyer who
defended the political opposition and alleged religious
extremists during the 1990s. Like Azimov, Zainutdinov also
died in mysterious circumstances in 2001. According to a May
18, 2001 article from the Kavkaz-Center News Agency website,
Zainutdinov died on April 7, 2001 shortly after agreeing to
defend Imam Abdulvahid Yuldashev and his assistant, Shukhrat
Tadjibaev. The official cause of Zainutdinov's death was
diabetes. But before he died, Zainutdinov reportedly told
acquaintances that he had been poisoned by the authorities to
prevent him from taking Yuldashev's case.

Azimov's Affiliation with the Swiss Embassy
--------------


11. (C) Burkhard said that Azimov was the most active lawyer
who participated in the Swiss Embassy's Legal Defense fund.
The Legal Defense Fund provides support to defendants in
human rights cases who are not able to pay for their own
lawyer. The program's annual budget is $50,000, and it has
covered hundreds of cases in the last three years. Burkhard
said that Azimov participated in about 50 cases funded by the
program, far greater than any other lawyer and a significant
percentage of the total number of cases. Azimov was also the
most successful lawyer in winning suspended or alternative
sentences for his clients. Burkhard said that his staff
would conduct an analysis of this year's cases in a few weeks
and that he would then provide Poloff with any additional
information on the cases that Azimov handled this year.


12. (C) The last contact the Swiss Embassy had with Azimov
before his apparent poisoning was on June 15, when Azimov
announced that he was to participate in a prison trial in the
Navoi region. When Swiss Embassy staff saw Azimov in the
hospital on July 5, Azimov told them that he was under
constant surveillance while returning from Navoi to Tashkent.


Possible Motives?

TASHKENT 00001356 003 OF 003


--------------


13. (C) Burkhard speculated why he thought Azimov might have
been poisoned. While the Government may obviously be
involved, Burkhard said that the attack could have been
arranged by one of the judges or prosecutors who lost cases,
and therefore had lost face, to Azimov while in court. When
asked by Poloff, Burkhard said that Azimov had not earlier
complained to the Swiss Embassy of any serious harassments or
threats against his life.

Comment
--------------


14. (C) We can not verify that Azimov was poisoned, but at
first glance, the symptoms and circumstances appear
consistent with such an attack. We do not buy Burkhard's
assertion that the apparent poisoning could have been
arranged by a prosecutor or judge, as it would have required
multiple participants and a high degree of planning and
organization to carry out. The most likely possibilities
would be either elements within the Government, such as the
National Security Service, which could have the means and the
ability to conduct such operations, or that Azimov fell
victim to a criminal vendetta. If the allegation about the
Government is true, the poisoning marks an escalation in the
Government's attempts to isolate and weaken the country's
human rights community. The incident sends a clear message
to Uzbekistan's human rights defenders that they are not
safe, and can be attacked even in one of Tashkent's most
crowded locations.


15. (C) If Azimov was indeed murdered, the choice of poison
as a weapon is interesting. The Government has not been
known before to poison its opponents. Given Azimov's
relatively high profile and strong affiliation with the Swiss
Embassy, his attackers may have decided that using poison to
eliminate Azimov was their best option, as it would be more
difficult to prove that Azimov was actually murdered and
trace the attack back to its perpetrators. Given that
Azimov's family is already downplaying rumors that he had
been poisoned, the attackers may have already achieved this
goal. The parallels with the mysterious death of Azimov's
mentor Zainutdinov in 2001 is also disturbing, and hints at a
more organized campaign against defense lawyers. Yet, it
remains unclear why either Zainutdinov or Azimov were such a
threat that they had to be eliminated.
HANSON