HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER DIES AFTER APPARENT POISONING

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