GOVERNMENT RELEASES 2007 AND 2006 AMNESTY DETAILS

C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 002183

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN AND DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/28/2017
TAGS: PHUM KIRF PGOV SOCI UZ
SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT RELEASES 2007 AND 2006 AMNESTY DETAILS

REF: A. TASHKENT 1822


B. TASHKENT 1197

Classified By: POLOFF R. FITZMAURICE FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D)


1. (C) Summary: Independent and state-controlled media
reported that President Karimov has approved plans for the
implementation of the December 2007 amnesty, according to
which approximately 3,500 prisoners who fall within specific
categories will be released. On December 27, poloff met with
Norbobo Rakhimov, the Deputy Director of the MVD's
Directorate of Prisons (GUIN),who confirmed the details of
the press reports and also reported the number of prisoners
amnestied last year. In addition, Rakhimov provided poloff
with additional useful information, including the current
number of prisoners in Uzbek jails and about GUIN's efforts
to combat the spread of tuberculosis in prisons and to
provide human rights trainings to its employees (septel). As
the amnesty is carried out over several months, it is too
early to tell whether the GOU plans to amnesty any political
prisoners, although some of them appear to fall within the
categories specified by the amnesty. We will continue to
emphasize in our discussions with government officials that
the release of a significant number of political prisoners
will be taken as a strong signal that the GOU is ready to
engage more fully on human rights. End summary.

Independent Website Announces 2007 Amnesty Details
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2. (U) On December 26, the independent Uzmetronom website
reported that President Karimov had approved plans for the
implementation of the December 2007 amnesty, which was
reportedly drafted jointly by the Supreme Court, the General
Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD),
and the National Security Service (NSS). According to the
article, approximately 3,500 prisoners "who do not pose a
threat to society" will be released. The story provides
specific breakdowns on the categories and numbers of
prisoners to be released, including: women (18),minors (21),
individuals over 60 years old (6),foreigner citizens (130),
the handicapped (63),those infected with tuberculosis (378),
those who unintentionally committed crimes (167),those who
committed lesser crimes (354),and those whose remaining
prison terms do not exceed two years (2,194). Interestingly,
Uzmetronom reported that the amnesty includes an unspecified
number of persons sentenced for participation in "banned
organizations," who have "firmly chosen the path to
correction." On November 27, the state-controlled Narodnoye
Slovo newspaper also reported that 3,500 prisoners would be
released under the amnesty, and noted that the first group of
women affected had already been released, although it did not
provide further details.


3. (C) Comment: The Uzmetronom report does not specifically
mention any individuals to be released, but several political
prisoners would fall under the categories listed, including
female human rights activist Mutabar Tojiboyeva (ref A) and
Jehovah's Witness Irfan Hamidov, a Tajik citizen (ref B).
However, not all individuals who fall under specified
categories have been released in previous years, as prison
directors have wide discretion over who can actually be
amnestied. For example, political prisoners have been denied
amnesty in previous years for alleged infractions of internal
prison regulations. End comment.

PRISON ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL CONFIRMS AMNESTY DETAILS
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4. (C) On December 27, poloff met with Colonel Norbobo
Rakhimov, the Deputy Director of the MVD's Directorate of
Prisons (GUIN). Rakhimov was familiar with the Uzmetronom
article and confirmed that its details were "100 percent"
accurate. He said that GUIN organized a press conference for
journalists on December 26 in which the details of the 2007
amnesty were explained. Rakhimov also emphasized that GUIN
has not specifically identified any inmates to be released
and that the figure 3,500 was simply GUIN's estimate of the
total number of prisoners in Uzbekistan who would fall into
each of the categories specified in the article. He noted
that the amnesty is usually carried out over a period of
three months and the final number of prisoners affected could
be greater or less than 3,500. He also noted that an
additional unspecified number of individuals would have their
sentences shortened, would be released from pre-trial
detention, or would have their charges against them simply
dismissed. Rakhimov explained that each prison director will
now decide which of their inmates would qualify for amnesty
and then forward their names to the Deputy Prosecutor of
their province for final review. He added that four
provinces (Bukhara, Navoi, Kashkadarya, and Tashkent region)
have specially assigned prosecutors who will review the cases
in those provinces.


5. (C) Rakhimov also said that the "banned organizations"
mentioned in the Uzmetronom article did not refer to
religious extremist organizations like Hizb ut-Tahrir, but
rather to individuals who were sentenced under criminal code
statute 159 (anti-constitutional activities) or 244 (forming
a criminal or armed group).


6. (C) Comment: Several political prisoners, including human
rights activists, have been convicted under statute 159, so
it appears that they may be eligible for this year's amnesty.
However, as mentioned above, prison directors have often
accused political prisoners of breaking internal prison
regulations, thus disqualifying them for amnesty. End
comment.

STATISTICS ON 2006 AMNESTY
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7. (C) Under the last annual amnesty announced in November
2006, Rakhimov said that 3,661 persons were released from
prison, including 26 minors and 72 persons being held in
pre-trial detention, and another 9,492 individuals had their
prison terms reduced.

COMMENT
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8. (C) As the amnesty is carried out over a period of
months, it is too early to tell whether the GOU is planning
to release any political prisoners. Though Rakhimov
portrayed the decision to amnesty prisoners as fully in the
hands of local prison directors and provincial-level
prosecutors, we suspect that any decision to release
political prisoners is made at much higher levels. Over the
next few months, we will continue to emphasize to the GOU
that the release of a significant number of political
prisoners would be taken as a strong signal that the
Government is serious about engaging more fully on human
rights.
NORLAND