SANJAR UMAROV'S CONDITION REPORTEDLY IMPROVES IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 000702 SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN AND DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/19/2018 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL UZ SUBJECT: SANJAR UMAROV'S CONDITION REPORTEDLY IMPROVES IN PRISON REF: TASHKENT 403 Classified By: POLOFF R. FITZMAURICE FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D) ¶1. (C) On June 16, Sunshine Coalition leader Nigara Khidoyatova reported to poloff that the health of Sunshine Coalition leader Sanjar Umarov, who was imprisoned in March 2006 on politically-motivated charges of tax evasion and illegal commodities trading, has noticeably improved in the past few months. After prison visits in March, both Khidoyatova and Umarov's son Arslan reported that Umarov's health condition was dire (reftel). Khidoyatova reported on June 16 that Umarov's sister last visited her brother in prison on May 10, and found that Umarov was completely lucid and appeared to be in much better physical shape than before. Khidoyatova speculated that prison authorities had provided Umarov with medical assistance in the interim. SAYFULLIN REPORTEDLY MEETS WITH UMAROV'S SON IN WASHINGTON -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) Khidoyatova also reported that "independent" political consultant Rafik Sayfullin had expressed "great satisfaction" over his recent trip to Washington, where he met with a variety of U.S. government officials and non-governmental representatives working on Central Asian affairs. Khidoyatova had earlier identified Sayfullin as the government's main intermediary with the Sunshine Coalition in negotiations for Umarov's release. According to Khidoyatova, the government still demands that Umarov first pay 8 million dollars in restitution, while Khidoyatova is seeking to reduce that amount to one or two million dollars, arguing that the government had already seized millions of dollars of Umarov's property. Khidoyatova confirmed that Sayfullin had met with Umarov's son Gulam while in Washington. Sayfullin reportedly told Khidoyatova that he would speak with National Security Council Secretary Marat Atayev and National Security Service (NSS) chief Rustam Inoyatov about his trip to Washington, and would report back to her any news they might have about Umarov. COMMENT -------------- ¶3. (C) Given the dire news that was reported about Umarov's health earlier this year, we are glad to hear that his health is improving. In April, the Ambassador raised our concern over Umarov's health with First Deputy Foreign Minister Ilkhom Nematov, and we believe that his intervention might have resulted in Umarov receiving better care. In addition, it appears that the government is continuing negotiations with the Sunshine Coalition over Umarov, and we hope that the news about his health improving is just a prelude to his eventual release from prison. The Ambassador reminded MFA officials on June 19 that we seek Umarov's release. NORLAND