DEPUTY INTERNAL AFFAIRS MINISTER OF UZBEKISTAN ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 000254

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR INL ANDREW BUHLER AND NORIS BALABANIAN; EUR/ACE
FOR DEAN FISCHER AND RICK STODDARD
DOJ/OPDAT FOR CATHERINE NEWCOMBE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/27/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KCRM ICRC EAID UZ
SUBJECT: DEPUTY INTERNAL AFFAIRS MINISTER OF UZBEKISTAN ON
HUMAN RIGHTS AND LEGAL REFORM

REF: A. TASHKENT 253

B. 07 TASHKENT 2024

Classified By: Political Officer Tim Buckley for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D
)


1. (C) Summary: On February 26 the Ambassador met with
Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Alisher Sharafutdinov to
discuss recent progress and next steps on human rights, legal
reform, and ICRC prison visits. The Uzbek side invited
journalists to the meeting and interviewed the Ambassador on
camera immediately afterwards, which may be an effort to
highlight improved ties with the West in advance of an
international conference in Tashkent next week that will
feature high-level Uzbek representation. Sharafutdinov
conceded that Uzbekistan "made some mistakes" in its early
years of independence but described the recent abolition of
the death penalty and the introduction of a habeas corpus law
as important steps in Uzbekistan's development.
Sharafutdinov, himself an attorney, was open to the prospect
of U.S. assistance in helping to implement habeas corpus and
positively assessed the previous impact of the American Bar
Association Central Europe and Eurasian Legal Initiative
(ABA-CEELI) in "introducing world standards" to Uzbekistan.
He revealed that the Government of Uzbekistan agreed to terms
with the ICRC to resume prison visits as of March 15 (reftel
A). Sharafutdinov also said there will be another amnesty in
March and, despite calling U.S. requests to release prisoners
"difficult," added that "there is still time" to consider
these cases. The Uzbeks are attaching importance to the
upcoming conference as a platform to tout progress; we will
try to use it to encourage further progress on human rights
and to identify opportunities to regain a foothold in legal
reform assistance. End summary.

Background
--------------


2. (C) Post submitted a diplomatic note to the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs (MFA) on February 1 requesting a meeting
between the Ambassador and Deputy Minister of Internal
Affairs Sharafutdinov, who has worked well with the embassy
in the past. Poloff was granted a meeting with Sharafutdinov
on February 21 to discuss trafficking in persons issues and,
after personally inquiring about the status of the request,
MVD took steps the same day to set up the meeting for the
Ambassador on February 26. However, the Ministry of Internal
Affairs (MVD) International Relations Department asked
numerous questions about the Ambassador's motivations for the
meeting and noted that he already met Minister of Internal
Affairs Matlyubov (reftel B). (Comment: Others in the
Government of Uzbekistan, including Minister Matlyubov, might
be jealous that we sought out Sharafutdinov; however, judging
by the warm reception and the media attention, it appears the
Uzbeks decided such a meeting could be used to their
advantage in promoting next week's high-profile conference on
law enforcement and human rights. End comment.)

On the Death Penalty
--------------


3. (C) Sharafutdinov noted the Government of Uzbekistan is
very proud of its decision to abolish the death penalty, and
he resisted the temptation to criticize the U.S. for not
taking similar action, as other Uzbek officials are quick to
do. He noted that there was "a lot of serious discussion"
before the decision was made in 2005, and he estimated that

at that time "more than 50 percent of our population did not
support the abolition of capital punishment." However, now
that the law has taken effect, "more than 90 percent support
the decision." He added that the Government of Uzbekistan
decided that punishment should help achieve the goal of
reintegrating repentant criminals into society.
Sharafutdinov also said taking a person's life is an
irreversible decision that does not allow a court to correct
mistakes. He also added that recidivism rates are down since
the liberalization of the Uzbek Criminal Code in 2001 and
2002 which shortened many sentences.

On Habeas Corpus
--------------


4. (C) Sharafutdinov emphasized the importance of a new law
that transferred more powers to the judiciary and away from
the investigators, calling it "a fundamental change of our
entire criminal justice system." He said the law, which took
effect on January 1, helps move Uzbekistan's legal system
away from the model inherited in the wake of the October
Revolution in Russia and more towards American and European
standards. He said it ensures more integrity into the
investigation process by forcing investigators "to have more
substantive reasons for making arrests," and he said they are
already more careful about obtaining permissions before
arresting suspects. He hailed the "openness" the law brings
into the criminal justice system and said, compared to the
same period a year ago, there have already been fewer appeals
to courts among those arrested about violations in the
investigative process. However, he conceded that "the law is
still new" and it will take some time to iron out all the
issues. He added that another draft law specifically
focusing on investigation operations will further help
Uzbekistan to "strike the balance between protecting the
rights of criminals and fighting crime."

A Break from the Past
--------------


5. (C) When asked about whether Uzbekistan was incorporating
any pre-Soviet, Central Asia-specific legal traditions
following independence, Sharafutdinov immediately shook his
head and said no. He stressed that the Government of
Uzbekistan sees itself as "developing a new state" and "needs
to take legislation in a new direction." With remarkable
candor for an Uzbek official, he said "there were mistakes
early on" which resulted in some legal practices "that were
less than the international standard." He noted that habeas
corpus-type legislation was not enacted in the 1990s "because
there were many opponents to it before." However, he says
over the years the mood has changed and, although some Soviet
traditions remain, the Uzbeks can still "fully reconsider"
aspects of its legal system.

U.S. Training Assistance Welcome...
--------------


6. (C) Sharafutdinov clarified that, from the Uzbek
perspective, it does not matter that some Western countries
may have common law traditions or practices rooted in the
Napoleonic Code. He specifically stated that the American
experience is relevant and applicable for Uzbekistan as it
continues to develop. He said the recent law with habeas
corpus elements is close to the American and German legal
systems. Even though there may be differences, he continued,
"many characteristics are close to each other." Besides, he

argued, Uzbekistan should get exposure to many different
countries' approaches in order to implement suitable policies
that fit a "world standard." As a lawyer, he recalled that
American assistance has already been valuable in the past and
would still be useful.

...Maybe Even From ABA-CEELI
--------------


7. (C) The Ambassador noted that ABA-CEELI previously worked
in Uzbekistan and asked whether the Government of Uzbekistan
thought it could be useful to work with them again.
Sharafutdinov acknowledged that ABA-CEELI "did much work to
teach the norms of international law." He described the
previous cooperation with ABA-CEELI as "strong," and noted
that Uzbek legal officials are still using some texts and
documents provided by the organization. He pointed out that
the decision to welcome ABA-CEELI back was not his, but noted
"any help would be good." (Comment: It is true that the
decision would be made at a higher level, but Sharafutdinov
would not likely have gone out on a limb and implied that
ABA-CEELI could contribute unless he felt it was safe to say
so. ABA-CEELI and other U.S.-supported programs were
instrumental in getting the Uzbeks to consider new habeas
corpus legislation. End comment.)

ICRC Prison Visits a Go
--------------


8. (C) Sharafutdinov was waiting for a question about the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) resuming
prison visits (even though it was not on the stated agenda),
and he announced that the two sides had reached a deal to
resume prison visits on March 15 (ref A). This is a
potentially major positive development on the human rights
front, and organizers of next week's Open Dialogue law
enforcement and human rights conference -- which will feature
U.S. and European legal experts as well as high-ranking Uzbek
officials -- just announced that ICRC representatives and
Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Shadiev (who is
responsible for administering penitentiaries) have been added
to the panel discussions. (Comment: This could portend that
the Government of Uzbekistan, which is co-sponsoring the
conference through its Foundation on Regional Policy, will
promote the significance of the agreement at the conference,
despite ICRC concerns about confidentiality. End comment.)
Sharafutdinov summarized that the ball is in ICRC's court,
and he reminded us that "despite misunderstandings,"
cooperation with ICRC on education and training programs was
never suspended.

Another Amnesty in March
--------------


9. (C) The Ambassador observed that the recent release of
some prisoners of interest to the international community had
elicited a positive reaction from Western audiences.
Sharafutdinov, who flashed a genuine smile upon hearing
encouraging words, then sighed audibly when the Ambassador
presented a list of 23 prisoners of interest to the U.S.,
including some who had been on the EU's list. He noted "we
cannot release people who have violated our laws just because
the international community tells us to." Upon scanning the
list, he specifically noted the case of Mutabar Tojiboyeva,
who he says is an example of a "difficult case" since she has
consistently violated rules in prison. (Note: We have heard
reports that, unlike other prisoners who received amnesty,

she has refused to sign a confession. End note.) However,
he said there would be another amnesty in March and that
"there is still time" to take the U.S.-provided list into
consideration. He called it "a difficult situation," but
said he understands that "this affects Uzbekistan's image in
the world." (Note: DCM also hand-delivered a copy of the
U.S. list of prisoners of interest to the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs during a concurrent meeting with Americas Division
Chief Mamajanov. End note.)

Comment
--------------


10. (C) Sharafutdinov, who led the Government of Uzbekistan
delegation to last fall's meeting of the United Nations
Committee on Torture in Geneva, came across as enlightened
and interested in reform. The Uzbeks seem to be stepping up
efforts to make -- and promote -- some positive steps forward
on human rights. Positive reinforcement from the West in
response to prisoner releases and other good news, as well as
the backdrop of possible renewed sanctions, both appear to be
playing a role. The Government of Uzbekistan is clearly
attaching significance to the upcoming Open Dialogue
conference. We will try to use it to encourage more progress
on human rights as well as identify opportunities to regain a
foothold for legal reform assistance efforts.

NORLAND