INCONSISTENCIES APPEAR IN ALISHER JUMAEV'S STORY

C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 002113 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN AND DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/12/2017 TAGS: PHUM PGOV UZ SUBJECT: INCONSISTENCIES APPEAR IN ALISHER JUMAEV'S STORY REF: TASHKENT 2109 Classified By: POLOFF R. FITZMAURICE FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D) ¶1. (C) Summary: Upon the conclusion of a press conference on the election (septel),Alisher Jumaev, who recently alleged that a large number of law enforcement officials had raided his family's home in the Karakul district of Bukhara province (reftel),appeared at the Human Rights Alliance and spoke with poloff and two members of the OSCE election monitoring team. Poloff noticed several inconsistencies between the story that Alisher told the OSCE observers and what he told poloff on December 10 at the Embassy. One of the OSCE observers offered to contact local election monitors in Bukhara province to investigate Alisher's story and to pass on any information to poloff. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) On December 12, the independent Uznews.net website reported on the alleged raid on the home of dissident Yusuf Jumaev in the Karakul region of Bukhara province, more or less repeating everything that his son, Alisher, included in an email to poloff on December 11. ¶3. (C) Alisher appeared at the Human Rights Alliance's office upon the conclusion of the press conference on the election. Poloff listened to Alisher's conversation with two OSCE observers who attended the press conference and noted several inconsistencies with the story he had told him at the Embassy on Monday. For example, Alisher told the observers that his brother was arrested in retaliation for a report written by his mother and posted on the internet alleging irregularities in the collection of signatures for the official presidential candidates, something that he did not tell poloff. Alisher also said his mother went into hiding after being interrogated by NSS officers in Bukhara, while he told poloff that his mother went into hiding before she could be interrogated by the NSS. In addition, he also described a particularly ridiculous car chase involving his father and police that allegedly occurred the same day as the raid upon his father's house. Furthermore, Alisher reported that his mother was hiding in the basement of their house, and he feared that she was also arrested during the alleged raid on December 10. ¶4. (C) Afterwards, poloff spoke with the OSCE observer from Poland, who also doubted Alisher's credibility. The election monitor said that he would contact local election monitors in Bukhara province to investigate the incident, and promised to share with poloff any new information they uncover. Poloff also noted that Alisher was interviewed by a local reporter from Radio Free Europe, so the story could still be more widely reported. COMMENT -------------- ¶5. (C) Given the apparent inconsistencies in Alisher's story, we continue to suspect that he may be exaggerating several details about the raid on his family's house or his brother Mashrab's December 4 arrest, if not making up the whole story. We also believe that he may be tailoring his story for specific audiences, noting that he emphasized his family's alleged role in uncovering electoral irregularities to the OSCE observers. We will continue to follow the story, and will pass along any new information that the OSCE's local election monitors in Bukhara may uncover. NORLAND