GOU OFFICIALS MINGLE WITH ACTIVISTS AT HUMAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 002132 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN AND DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/17/2017 TAGS: PHUM PGOV UZ KG SUBJECT: GOU OFFICIALS MINGLE WITH ACTIVISTS AT HUMAN RIGHTS DAY RECEPTION REF: TASHKENT 927 Classified By: POLOFF R. FITZMAURICE FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D). ¶1. (C) Summary: In commemoration of Human Rights Day on December 10, the Ambassador hosted an evening reception with diplomatic, government, and human rights contacts. The event followed an afternoon roundtable with several prominent Uzbek human rights activists at the Embassy (septel). There was only one report of authorities preventing an individual from attending the reception, which we believe was unrelated to the event itself. The evening reception also was well attended by Government officials, including MFA officers and Human Rights Ombudsmen Sayora Rashidova. The diverse crowd mingled well, and human rights activist Bakhtiyor Hamroev used the opportunity to approach Rashidova about the plight of his son, who allegedly stabbed himself with scissors in prison after being beaten recently by guards. Poloff also had the opportunity to speak at the reception with former Human Rights Watch staffer Umida Niyazova, who was told by police that she would not be amnestied this year, and former Radio Free Europe journalist Nosir Zokir, who disputed a story on a Kyrgyz website that he had any knowledge about who killed Kyrgyz journalist Alisher Saipov. In addition, human rights activists at the reception echoed sentiments expressed by other activists at the roundtable that the U.S. Government should seek renewed dialogue with the government rather than implement sanctions. End summary. RECEPTION WELL ATTENDED BY GOU OFFICIALS... -------------- ¶2. (C) On December 10, the Ambassador and his wife, herself a lawyer who teaches international human rights law with a focus on women's rights, hosted an evening reception for over 70 government, diplomatic, and human rights contacts. Surprisingly, almost all of the government contacts invited to the event attended, including Human Rights Ombudsman Sayora Rashidova, her deputy Maruf Usmanov, and three representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Americas Office. ...AND HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS -------------- ¶3. (C) As with the human rights roundtable held on the same day (septel),almost all of the human rights activists and political opposition figures invited to attend the reception were able to do so. The lone exception was Birlik opposition party leader Pulat Akhunov, who was reportedly stopped again by police for the second time in as many weeks on the border of Namangan province and forced to return to his temporary home in Andijon (reftel). Akhunov, who has resided in exile in Sweden for the past several years, returned to Uzbekistan in March to renew his passport. Officials in Andijon have so far refused to issue him a new passport, and he remains unable to return to Sweden. (Comment: Akhunov has threatened recently in internet announcements to hold a hunger strike in protest outside the Presidential Apparatus, which we believe is the real reason why he was prevented from traveling to Tashkent for the reception. End comment.) AMBASSADOR'S REMARKS REPORTED BY INDEPENDENT WEBSITES -------------- -------------- ¶4. (U) The Ambassador made a short speech praising human rights activists and also thanking diplomatic colleagues and Uzbek Government representatives for their cooperation on human rights issues and calling for closer coordination in the future. The event and the speech were covered in articles on the independent Uzmetronom website and on the Kyrgyzstan-based "Voice of Freedom" website. "Voice of Freedom" is a new network of Kyrgyzstan-based human rights defenders and journalists supported by Freedom House and funded by USAID. ACTIVISTS (AGAIN) EXPRESS DOUBT ABOUT SANCTIONS -------------- -- ¶5. (C) Throughout the evening, the uniquely diverse (for Uzbekistan) crowd mingled freely with one another. In conversations with various Embassy personnel, it became apparent that most of the human rights contacts at the reception, like those earlier at the roundtable, agreed that implementing sanctions against Uzbekistan at this point would be counterproductive. Instead, they believed that the Embassy should intensify dialogue with the government to resolve human rights issues. HAMROEV TO MEET WITH RASHIDOVA, VISITS SON IN PRISON -------------- -------------- ¶6. (C) During the reception, Jizzakh-based human rights activist Bakhtiyor Hamroev approached Human Rights Ombudsman Rashidova about the plight of his son Ikhtiyor, who allegedly stabbed himself with scissors in prison after being beaten by prison guards. Rashidova agreed to meet with him to discuss the issue further. On December 12, her deputy Usmanov confirmed to poloff that Hamroev was scheduled to meet with Rashidova on December 17. ¶7. (C) Later that week in an internet announcement, Hamroev reported that after eleven days of waiting and five failed attempts, he was finally able to see his son at prison 64/78 in Chimkurgan on December 11 (one day after the Human Rights Day events). Hamroev said that his son, Ikhtiyor, had lost weight and his face was pale. He also included pictures of Ikhtiyor showing a wound on the right side of his stomach allegedly from his self-inflicted stabbing. It was clear from the photo that Ikhtiyor had been provided with some medical treatment for his wound. Ikhtiyor looked pale and dazed, but no other wounds or bruises were visible. ¶8. (C) Ikhtiyor reportedly told Bakhtiyor during the visit that he was initially interrogated through the night of November 29 and into the next day by prison guards, who demanded that he sign a confession stating that he was guilty of hooliganism (Note: Ikhtiyor was sentenced to three years' imprisonment for hooliganism in September 2006, but observers believe that the charges against him were politically-motivated and related to his father's human rights work. End note.) After several hours of interrogation, two of the prison guards, Captain Nurullo Sadullaev and Captain Husniddin Shodiyorov, allegedly began to beat and choke Ikhtiyor. At that point, the director of the prison, Sobir Mingbaev, reportedly appeared and threatened to send Ikhtiyor to be killed in prison zone 64/18 in Tashkent because he was "sick" of him and his father. Ikhityor was then placed into solitary confinement for ten days, during which time he continued to endure beatings and reportedly stabbed himself with a small pair of scissors in protest. ¶9. (C) According to Bakhtiyor, the prison immediately arranged for a doctor to treat Ikhtiyor in solitary confinement after his stabbing. On December 5, Ikhtiyor was also reportedly visited by investigator Yormuhammad Talipov from the Zafarabad District Prosecutor's Office, who wrote down his allegations and promised to forward them to the district's prosecutor, Latipov. NO AMNESTY (YET) FOR UMIDA NIYAZOVA -------------- ¶10. (C) At the reception, poloff spoke with journalist and former Human Rights Watch staffer Umida Niyazova, who was given a seven-year suspended sentence in May on politically-motivated charges (ref C). Niyazova said that police informed her on December 3 that she would not be considered for this year's amnesty because it did not pertain to those convicted of "political" charges (Note: As part of her suspended sentence, Niyazova is obliged to periodically meet with local police. End note.). State-controlled media reported that the Senate adopted its annual amnesty resolution on November 30, which reportedly applies to women, foreigners, juveniles, and those over 60 years of age. Niyazova was hoping to be amnestied so that she could once again travel abroad with her young son to see her common-law husband, who currently works as a journalist for Radio Free Europe in Prague. (Comment: Uzbekistan's amnesties are usually implemented over the course of months, so it remains possible that the low-level police officials Niyazova spoke with are misinformed and that she could still be amnestied at a later date. End comment.) Ambassador raised Niyazova's case with MFA officials present at the reception, noting that including her in the amnesty will send an important signal on human rights. Despite her difficult situation, Niyazova told Ambassador's wife that sanctions would be counter-productive; she believed the only way to secure progress from the GOU was to pursue intensified dialogue. CONTRARY TO INTERNET REPORT, ZOKIR DOESN'T KNOW SAIPOV'S KILLERS -------------- -------------- ¶11. (C) Poloff also had an opportunity to speak with former Radio Free Europe reporter and human rights activist Nosir Zokir. Recently, an anonymous article on the Kyrgyzstan-based Tazar.kg website claimed that Zokir knew the identities of those who killed Kyrgyz journalist Alisher Saipov in October. The story further accused him of being an accomplice and collaborating for Uzbekistan's National Security Service. Zokir firmly denied the website's allegations. He confirmed that he was with Saipov in Osh on the day of his murder, but he left Saipov's home at approximately 5 pm, about one and a half hours before Saipov's was reportedly shot by two unknown assailants. Zokir added that he was a close friend of Saipov, whom he originally met during the young reporter's frequent trips to Radio Free Europe's office in Tashkent in the years before the 2005 Andijon events. (Comment: We believe that the allegations made against Zokir in the article are wholly unfounded. Zokir was imprisoned for several months on politically-motivated charges after the Andijon events, and he remains a committed journalist and human rights activist. End comment.) COMMENT -------------- ¶12. (C) The Human Rights Days events followed shortly on the heels of a television speech by President Karimov on December 7 in which he issued what observers have called an "olive branch," stating he would maintain close cooperation with the United States and the European Union. We believe that the attendance at the reception of a relatively large number of government officials, especially of Human Rights Ombudsman Rashidova herself, could be another signal that the government would seek increased engagement with the Embassy, including on human rights issues. On the other hand, it remains possible that the government is also seeking to alleviate international criticism of the December 23 presidential election. We will have to test the GOU's willingness to engage seriously on these issues following Karimov's anticipated re-election on December 23, unless the possibility of new U.S. sanctions shuts down the prospect of such dialogue. In this regard, it is also clear from the Human Rights Days events that a majority of Uzbekistan's human rights activists favor intensified dialogue with the government on human rights rather than the implementation of new sanctions. NORLAND