UZBEKISTAN EXPELS HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH DIRECTOR;

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TASHKENT 000782

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN AND DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/16/2017
TAGS: PHUM PGOV UZ
SUBJECT: UZBEKISTAN EXPELS HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH DIRECTOR;
LOCAL STAFFER FACES TRIAL

REF: TASHKENT 296 (NOTAL)

Classified By: AMB. JON R. PURNELL, FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D)


1. (C) Summary: On April 13, the Ministry of Justice informed
Human Rights Watch's office director that it had denied her
request for an extension of her accreditation. As she is the
last remaining staffer who has not been either arrested or
deported, this decision effectively ends Human Rights Watch's
presence in Uzbekistan. The organization's local assistant,
Umida Niyazova, goes on trial this week on multiple criminal
charges, including the allegation that she used a grant from
the U.S. Embassy to spread printed materials posing a threat
to public order. The government's actions against Human
Rights Watch are in stark contrast to EU demands for concrete
positive actions on human rights. End summary.

ACCREDITATION DENIED
--------------


2. (U) At 5:00 in the afternoon on Friday, April 13, the
Ministry of Justice called in Human Rights Watch office
director Andrea Berg (a German citizen) and informed her that
the government had denied her request for renewal of
accreditation. In a terse letter, Ministry officials
justified the decision by claiming that Berg had exceeded her
authority and that her activities were inconsistent with
Human Rights Watch's charter. Berg reported that the
Ministry gave her no guidance as to when she is required to
depart Uzbekistan.


3. (U) Berg is the only employee remaining at Human Rights
Watch except for a part-time local accountant and a contract
driver. The Ministry of Justice effectively expelled an
Amcit junior researcher in April 2006 by refusing to renew
his accreditation. In June 2006, Human Rights Watch applied
for a visa for a new Amcit junior researcher, but the
government has not issued a visa and has not responded to
numerous inquiries from Human Rights Watch regarding the
status of the application. The Embassy also queried contacts
at the Foreign Ministry about the visa, but received no
response. The office's local researcher and translator,
Umida Niyazova, was arrested in January on politically
motivated charges and faces trial this week (reftel).
Several members of Human Rights Watch headquarters staff have
applied to visit Uzbekistan in the past year, but all
requests for visas have gone unanswered. Justice Ministry
officials on Friday were quick to reassure Berg that the
government is not asking Human Rights Watch to close its
office. The Ministry's letter ends with the ironic line:
"The Ministry of Justice expresses its hope for future
cooperation." Berg said that Human Rights Watch would
contest the government's decision.

NIYAZOVA ON TRIAL
--------------


4. (C) Berg reported that Umida Niyazova is scheduled to go
on trial on Thursday, April 19, at Tashkent's Sergeli
District Criminal Court. She is accused of illegal border
crossing, smuggling, and distributing material that poses a
threat to public order. The charges could result in a
sentence of several years' imprisonment. The Embassy has
requested permission to monitor the trial, and the British
Embassy has also indicated that it will attempt to send
observers. Since Niyazova's arrest, her family and lawyer
have had occasional access to her. The Embassy has twice
requested access to her unsuccessfully. The German Embassy
has likewise requested access twice, but authorities denied
the requests based on the fact that the case was still under
investigation.


5. (C) Niyazova's lawyer told Berg that prosecutors have
included in the indictment an accusation that Niyazova
received funding from the U.S. Embassy's Democracy Commission
small grants program and used the money to produce and
distribute literature posing a threat to public order. In
late January, shortly after Niyazova's arrest, the Embassy
did in fact approve a Democracy Commission grant of just over
$7,500 to the newly established human rights monitoring
organization Veritas, of which Niyazova is a co-founder. The
organization began receiving grant funds in the first week of
April.

TASHKENT 00000782 002 OF 002




6. (C) Comment: By denying Berg's accreditation, the Uzbek
government, for all practical purposes, has expelled Human
Rights Watch altogether. The office cannot operate without a
staff, and the government has studiously ignored all requests
for additional visas. Human Rights Watch is the last
international human rights organization represented in
Uzbekistan. The government's actions against it are part of
a coordinated effort to stop the flow of information to the
outside world about its human rights practices. When the
European Union meets again in May to consider the future of
sanctions against Uzbekistan, it should consider this action,
and the trial of Umida Niyazova, as a stark contrast to its
call for concrete positive steps on human rights.

PURNELL