MUTABAR TOJIBOYEVA'S HEALTH WORSENS IN PRISON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TASHKENT 001822 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN AND DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/22/2017 TAGS: PHUM ICRC PGOV UZ SUBJECT: MUTABAR TOJIBOYEVA'S HEALTH WORSENS IN PRISON Classified By: POLOFF R. FITZMAURICE FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D) ¶1. (C) On October 18, poloff met with the brother and lawyer of imprisoned human rights activist Mutabar Tojiboyeva. The brother reported visiting his sister in prison on October 3 and confirmed a recent report on an independent website that her health has been deteriorating and prison officials are pressuring her to commit suicide. The brother also shared with poloff another letter from Tojiboyeva that was allegedly smuggled out of prison. Given the reluctance of the Government to grant independent observers full access to Uzbekistan's prisons, it is difficult for us to confirm the welfare of imprisoned human rights activists such as Tojiboyeva. End summary. LIMITED ACCESS FOR TOJIBOYEVA'S FAMILY; NO ACCESS FOR LAWYER -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) On October 18, poloff met with Rasul Tojiboyev, the brother of imprisoned human rights activist Mutabar Tojiboyeva, and her lawyer, Rukhiddin Kamilov. Rasul reported that he last visited his sister at Tashkent's women's prison colony on October 3, his third meeting with Tojiboyeva this year. Rasul said that on several other occasions this year, he was not able to visit his sister after prison officials claimed that she had broken prison regulations and was placed in solitary confinement. ¶3. (C) Kamilov reported that he has not been able to meet with Tojiboyeva at all despite sending repeated requests to the women's prison colony, the Ministry of Internal Affair's (MVD) Directorate of Prisons (GUIN),the General Prosecutor's Office and Uzbekistan's Human Rights Ombudsman. Kamilov said that the government bodies have replied to his letters, stating that Tojiboyeva must request to see her lawyer. However, Kamilov and Rasul reported that Tojiboyeva frequently writes such requests, but they are confiscated before they can reach their intended destinations. TOJIBOYEVA SUFFERING FROM HEART AND KIDNEY PROBLEMS -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C) Rasul reported that Tojiboyeva's health had noticeably declined since their last meeting on August 10. Rasul said that her face and eyes were now visibly swollen. He also reported that since being placed in an unheated cell last winter with only a single layer of clothing, she developed a persistent cough and has complained of problems with her heart and kidneys. Rasul also said that after he visited her in January, Tojiboyeva was forced to stand outside in the rain for two hours as punishment. He claimed that she had not suffered any health problems before being sentenced to eight years imprisonment in March 2006 on politically-motivated charges including extortion, fraud, tax evasion, forgery, and disseminating materials constituting a threat to public order. ¶5. (C) Rasul told poloff that Tojiboyeva had been examined by Yulia Kumarova, a doctor at the prison, but that prison officials later claimed that the doctor's report was secret and refused to share it with him or Tojiboyeva. Other than the one examination, Rasul said that Tojiboyeva has been denied access to medical treatment while in prison. Rasul reported to poloff that Tojiboyeva is refusing to eat anything other than bread due to rat infestations at the prison. She is also reportedly afraid that prison officials are slipping psychotropic drugs into her food (Note: Tojiboyeva was held at a psychiatric ward at the prison for 15 days in July 2006, where doctors reportedly administered oral medications to her. End note.) OFFICIALS ALLEGEDLY PRESSURING TOJIBOYEVA TO COMMIT SUICIDE -------------- -------------- ¶6. (C) Rasul did not dispute the details of an October 10 report on the independent Uznews.net website that Tojiboyeva was recently held in solitary confinement with a rope and prison officials were pressuring her to commit suicide. According to Rasul, Tojiboyeva told him that prison officials had set up a noose in her cell and were goading her to hang herself. ANOTHER LETTER REPORTEDLY SMUGGLED OUT OF PRISON TASHKENT 00001822 002 OF 002 -------------- --- ¶7. (C) Rasul provided poloff a copy of a letter that he received from Tojiboyeva after their last meeting that was delivered to him by an unknown police officer who somehow smuggled it out of jail. Rasul believed the action of the police officer is evidence that not everyone working at the jail approved of how his sister is treated. Rasul also reported a conversation with the director of the women's colony, who allegedly said that he did not personally support the poor treatment of Tojiboyeva, but that he had no choice but to follow orders from the General Prosecutor's Office. However, the director agreed to pass along to Tojiboyeva a care package prepared by Rasul. ¶8. (C) Embassy political section FSN examined the letter, which was written by hand in Uzbek, and reported that it was poorly written and difficult to follow. He had the impression that whoever wrote the letter was under heavy sedation and could not think clearly. The letter includes descriptions of several alleged incidents of mistreatment. On February 1, Tojiboyeva wrote that MVD Major Olga Pshenichnikova forced her to undress and stand naked in her cell for one hour. After she complained to prison officials about the incident, Tojiboyeva was reportedly visited by a doctor who examined her and then forced her to sign false statements about her health. On February 26, she wrote that she was called into the prison director's office and asked to sign a statement that she was treated well at the prison. When Tojiboyeva reportedly refused to sign the statement, she was placed in solitary confinement for seven days. On March 11, she wrote that prison officials placed her again in solitary confinement for one month after discovering six tablets of the heart medicine Riboxin under her mattress. ¶9. (C) In the letter, Tojiboyeva stated that she submitted requests to see her lawyer to the prison administration and that she was forced to sign several documents confessing her guilt. During an earlier meeting in September, Rasul told poloff that Tojiboyeva was forced to sign a confession by prison officials in August. At the end of the letter, Tojiboyeva writes that she is certain that she will be killed in prison. However, as far as Embassy FSN was able to decipher, the letter does not include any mention of a noose being placed in her cell or prison authorities pressuring her to commit suicide. COMMENT -------------- ¶10. (C) Given that the GOU continues to deny independent observers, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC),full access to Uzbekistan's prisons, it is difficult for us to objectively ascertain the welfare of imprisoned human rights activists such as Tojiboyeva. The Embassy will raise Tojiboyeva's case in discussions with GOU officials and request a meeting with her in prison. Post also will continue to push the Uzbeks to allow ICRC to restart its prison monitoring program. NORLAND