GOU: BLUSTER ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND POLITICAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 000143

SIPDIS

//C O R R E C T E D C O P Y/ADDING ADDEE//

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN AND DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/01/2018
TAGS: PHUM MARR PGOV PREL UZ
SUBJECT: GOU: BLUSTER ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND POLITICAL
PRISONERS?

REF: A. TASHKENT 131

B. TASHKENT 114

C. TASHKENT 49

D. TASHKENT 90

E. TASHKENT 126

Classified By: AMBASSADOR RICHARD NORLAND FOR REASONS
1.4 (B, D)


1. (C) Summary: There are signs of progress on some aspects
of our human rights agenda with Uzbekistan, especially
concerning civil society (ref A),but the issue of political
prisoners remains the toughest nut to crack. We and the
French have encountered visceral reaction at the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs to recent attempts to broach the issue.
However, there are indications that individuals on an EU list
of prisoners, and others, have been or may be about to be
released. As we consider how to overcome GOU resistance on
this issue and encourage as broad "coverage" by the GOU
amnesty as possible, we need to carefully calibrate our
approach, guided first of all by the principle of "do no
harm" at this potentially pivotal stage. End summary.

NEMATOV RAISES MUSAEV'S CASE AHEAD OF FALLON VISIT
-------------- --------------


2. (C) First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ilkhom
Nematov requested a meeting on January 22 with the Ambassador
ahead of Admiral Fallon's visit to Tashkent on January 24
(ref B). Nematov brought up the issue of political prisoner
Erkin Musaev, stating that Musaev had been convicted and
Uzbekistan had evidence of his guilt (Comment: The DATT and
Pol-Econ Chief had earlier raised the case of Musaev and
Natalya Medjidova, a border guard who was also convicted of
espionage in 2007, with MFA America's Desk Chief Ismat
Fayzullaev, who presumably passed along the Embassy's
concerns to Nematov. End comment.) Nematov told us that if
Admiral Fallon brought up the issue during his visit, the
Government of Uzbekistan would provide documents proving that
Musaev was rightfully convicted. Nematov repeatedly stressed
that the Musaev case was an internal matter, and that such
"interference" from the United States could harm bilateral
relations.


3. (C) The Ambassador pointed out that an enhanced mil-mil
relationship was unlikely to be fruitful if U.S.
interlocutors were going to be arrested on phony charges. He
also told Nematov that a broad application of the GOU's
prison amnesty, to include political prisoners, would go far
to address U.S. human rights concerns, including those voiced
by Congress in recent legislation.


4. (C) Musaev, a former Uzbek Ministry of Defense official
and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) local employee,
was sentenced to a total of 20 years' imprisonment for
espionage and corruption in three separate trials in 2006 and
2007 (ref C). Observers believe that the charges against
Musaev in all three cases were fabricated (Comment: In his
third trial in September 2007, Musaev was convicted with
Medjidova and three other border guards of being involved in
an alleged U.S. government espionage plot run by the DAO and
aimed at overthrowing the Karimov regime. The GOU claims to
have evidence of this plot, but the question remains of why
the GOU wants to now reengage with the Department of Defense
and the National Security Service's U.S. counterparts if they
supposedly ran an espionage plot aimed at overthrowing the
current regime. End comment.)

NEMATOV ALSO REACTS NEGATIVELY TO MENTION OF POLITICAL
PRISONERS IN LETTER FROM FRENCH PRESIDENT
-------------- --------------


5. (C) On January 30, French Ambassador Hugues Pernet
(strictly protect) shared with the Ambassador a letter from
French President Nicholas Sarkozy to President Karimov. The
letter, which is dated January 29, references Karimov's
December 7 Constitution Day speech in which he extended an
apparent olive branch to the EU and the United States. It
did not congratulate Karimov on his re-election, but
expressed the French government's hope that Karimov would be
"generous" in his application of the GOU's prisoner amnesty
in his new term. Although the letter was mostly
well-received, according to the French Ambassador, Nematov
was visibly agitated by the mention of amnesty for prisoners
in the letter. The French Ambassador opted not to confront
Nematov over the issue, but told a lower-ranking official
that the GOU needed to do more if it did not want EU
sanctions to be restored.

UZBEKS ATTEMPTING TO COMPARTMENTALIZE HUMAN RIGHTS
-------------- --------------


6. (C) In their recent comments to Emboffs, Nematov and
Fayzullaev have articulated the GOU's desire to
compartmentalize discussions of human rights away from
discussions of other bilateral interests. Needless to say,
the Uzbeks are displaying greater interest in pursuing
cooperation on the security front rather than in the
political sphere. During the meeting with the Ambassador on
January 22, Nematov said that while Admiral Fallon's visit
was a good step in strengthening the bilateral relationship,
political issues (such as democratization and human rights)
should be kept separate from what he believed was a military
and security-focused visit. The Ambassador disagreed,
stressing that we needed to see progress on all aspects of
our relations, especially human rights.


7. (C) During a meeting with the DATT on January 28, MFA
America's Desk Chief Ismat Fayzullaev expressed a similar
sentiment when the issue of human rights was raised, telling
the DATT that they could discuss security-related issues
together, but to leave all discussions of human rights to the
political section.

MEANWHILE...RUMORS OF AMNESTY FOR ZAYNABITDINOV AND OTHERS
-------------- --------------


8. (C) There are signs that some prisoners may in fact be
released. The German Ambassador told us that 11 individuals
on the EU list of 28 are being released, though this remains
to be confirmed (ref D). On January 25, human rights Rapid
Reaction Group members Shukhrat Ganiev, Abdusalom Ergashev,
and Sukhrob Ismoilov reported hearing a rumor to poloff that
imprisoned activist Saidjahon Zaynabitdinov had been recently
amnestied and is now at home with his family in Andijon. The
Rapid Reaction Group members could not confirm the rumor, but
explained that in previous years there have been cases of
activists being quietly released and ordered not to inform
others for a specific period of time. On January 30,
Ismoilov told poloff that he had contacted two colleagues in
Andijon, but they were still unable to confirm whether
Zaynabitdinov was freed or not. (Comment: Zaynabitdinov is a
high-profile political prisoner and we believe his release
would have resulted in at least some chatter on independent
internet websites. So far, poloff has not heard this rumor
from any other sources, but we will continue to try to verify
it. End comment.)


9. (C) In the past week, poloff has conversed with several
other human rights contacts who expressed optimism that
additional high-profile political prisoners would soon be
amnestied and released, including Ezgulik human rights
activist Dilmurod Muhidinov, Pentacostalist pastor Dmitry
Shestakov, and Andijon-based human rights activist Mutabar
Tojiboyeva (ref E).

COMMENT: HOW BEST TO APPROACH THE UZBEKS ON AMNESTY FOR
POLITICAL PRISONERS?
-------------- --------------


10. (C) Clearly the issue of political prisoners is at a
very delicate stage. The Uzbeks may be on the verge of
releasing some individuals whose cases have gained
international attention, but in a way that minimizes
publicity and avoids loss of face. Another factor at play
here is probably the power of the NSS in presidential
deliberations - clearly, MFA officials do not relish having
to take cases to the president in what will inevitably
involve challenges to NSS arrests. What is interesting is
that something seems to be happening in this extremely
sensitive area. As we consider next steps, we need to be
guided first of all in our approach by the principle of "do
no harm."
NORLAND