Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08TASHKENT767
2008-07-02 06:46:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Tashkent
Cable title:  

UZBEKISTAN: HEALTH CONDITION OF RELEASED HUMAN

Tags:  PHUM ICRC KWMN PGOV PREL UZ 
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DE RUEHNT #0767/01 1840646
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R 020646Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY TASHKENT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9920
INFO RUEHAH/AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT 4106
RUEHTA/AMEMBASSY ASTANA 0319
RUEHEK/AMEMBASSY BISHKEK 4721
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 0586
RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR 0211
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE 0603
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 4312
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 2604
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 0625
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 1261
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 1893
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1291
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 2573
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC 0018
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC 0169
C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 000767 

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA, DRL, AND G/TIP
SCA FOR BRIAN RORAFF; DRL FOR RACHEL WALDSTEIN; G/TIP FOR
MEGAN HALL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/02/2018
TAGS: PHUM ICRC KWMN PGOV PREL UZ
SUBJECT: UZBEKISTAN: HEALTH CONDITION OF RELEASED HUMAN
RIGHTS ACTIVIST UNCLEAR

REF: A. TASHKENT 627

B. TASHKENT 501

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

C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 000767

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA, DRL, AND G/TIP
SCA FOR BRIAN RORAFF; DRL FOR RACHEL WALDSTEIN; G/TIP FOR
MEGAN HALL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/02/2018
TAGS: PHUM ICRC KWMN PGOV PREL UZ
SUBJECT: UZBEKISTAN: HEALTH CONDITION OF RELEASED HUMAN
RIGHTS ACTIVIST UNCLEAR

REF: A. TASHKENT 627

B. TASHKENT 501

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


1. (C) Summary: During a three-day visit to the Ferghana
Valley on June 25 - 27, poloff visited human rights activist
Mutabar Tojiboyeva at a private clinic in Margilan, where she
has been receiving treatment since being released from prison
on medical grounds on June 2. Tojiboyeva explained that her
current medical condition is unclear, as authorities have
refused to share with her documentation from medical checkups
performed on her while she was in prison and from a
hysterectomy performed on her in March. The private clinic
has conducted its own medical examination, but its results
appear to be unreliable. Tojiboyeva further reported that
conditions at the Tashkent Women's Colony have improved over
the past six months, though she was previously mistreated by
prison officials; that many women convicted of "normal
criminal activity" were amnestied each year, but not
religious prisoners or those convicted of human trafficking;
and that her hysterectomy at a Tashkent hospital was
scheduled at the same time the International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC) visited the Tashkent Women's Colony, but
that she was later interviewed by the ICRC during a repeat
prison visit. Poloff was accompanied to the meeting by the
French DCM, whose government requested the Uzbeks to allow
Tojiboyeva to seek medical treatment abroad. We agree this
would be the best option for both Tojiboyeva and the Uzbek
government. Furthermore, Tojiboyeva's observation that
conditions have improved at the Tashkent Women's Colony also
tracks with what we have heard from other activists about
Uzbek prisons in different parts of the country. End
summary.

TOJIBOYEVA RECEIVING MEDICAL ASSISTANCE AT PRIVATE CLINIC
-------------- --------------


2. (C) Accompanied by French DCM Christophe Le Rigoleur,
poloff met on June 25 with human rights activist Mutabar

Tojiboyeva, who was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment on
politically-motivated charges in 2006 and was released from
prison on medical grounds on June 2 (ref A). Poloff and Le
Rigoleur met with Tojiboyeva at a private medical clinic
where she was receiving treatment. Tojiboyeva was very
talkative and appeared in good spirits, but she also
complained of suffering from a host of medical ailments.


3. (C) Tojiboyeva noted that the private clinic charged its
patients 8,000 soums (6 dollars) a day, not including the
price of any medications. Tojiboyeva estimated that her
planned ten-day stay at the private medical clinic would cost
300,000 soums (227 dollars) (Comment: Tojiboyeva was provided
money through the U.S. State Department's Global Defender's
Fund, and we believe she is using some of those funds to pay
for her stay at the private medical clinic, which is
relatively expensive by Uzbek standards. End comment.)

TOJIBOYEVA'S CURRENT MEDICAL CONDITION UNCLEAR
-------------- -


4. (C) Tojiboyeva's current medical status is unclear, as the
government reportedly refuses to share with her the results
of medical evaluations that were performed on her while she
was imprisoned. In March, while still imprisoned, Tojiboyeva
underwent what appears to be a hysterectomy at a public
hospital in Tashkent (ref B). Tojiboyeva told poloff on June
25 that she was not informed about the operation before it
occurred, and authorities did not subsequently share with
Tojiboyeva any detailed information or documents about the


operation. A Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD)
representative visited Tojiboyeva in prison after the
operation, and told her that her illness was serious and used
some medical terminology to describe it, but Tojiboyeva said
that she did not understand or remember the medical
terminology that was used (Comment: Human Rights Watch
director Igor Vorontsov earlier told poloff that Tojiboyeva
had cancer. While this is still a possibility, it now
appears less certain. End comment.)



5. (C) Since her operation, Tojiboyeva reported that she has
trouble sleeping and suffers from hot flashes. She said that
she feels particularly ill in the morning and that her
symptoms appear to worsen in six to ten day cycles. She also
reported that she has high blood pressure and suffered from
frequent fainting spells while in prison. In addition, she
has problems with her kidneys. Fortunately, Tojiboyeva
reported that her lungs "were fine" and that she had not
contracted tuberculosis while in prison.


6. (C) Tojiboyeva said that the doctors at the private
medical clinic had examined her, and gave poloff a printout
of their results. Tojiboyeva noted that the document listed
42 medical illnesses from which she reportedly suffered,
including anemia and diabetes, but added that she did not
understand some of the other illnesses. After returning to
Tashkent, poloff shared the medical document with a local
doctor who works at the Embassy. The doctor said that the
document was not a serious medical document and contained no
meaningful medical information about Tojiboyeva. He believed
that the document came from an unreliable "computerized
diagnostic" machine sold in the former Soviet Union which
purportedly detects illnesses simply by measuring one's blood
pressure or irises. The doctor said that he would be
surprised if such a machine was being used at a private
medical facility. Poloff has requested that the Tojiboyeva
family share the contact information of the private medical
clinic, so that the Embassy doctor could directly confer with
the doctor who treated Tojiboyeva.

CURRENT RESTRICTIONS ON MOVEMENT ALSO UNCLEAR
--------------


7. (C) Tojiboyeva emphasized that she was not amnestied, but
was released from prison on health grounds on a suspended
three-year sentence. Tojiboyeva was unsure about the current
restrictions on her movement and other activities. Local
police in Margilan reportedly told her that she remains
subject to the conditions of Article 72 of the Criminal Code
(which covers suspended sentences),but she has not received
any official documentation from the Uzbek government to this
effect. According to Tojiboyeva's interpretation of Article
72, she is unable to leave the country (Comment: According to
the Embassy's Legal Assistant, Article 72 does not expressly
forbid an individual from traveling abroad, but does require
them to periodically check in with the police, so it is
generally interpreted as preventing individuals from leaving
Uzbekistan. End comment.) Tojiboyeva believed that she was
able to travel internally in Uzbekistan, but needed to
receive permission from the local police department before
leaving Margilan. Both poloff and Le Rigoleur invited
Tojiboyeva to their respective upcoming national days. On
June 30, Tojiboyeva's brother Rasul told poloff that
Tojiboyeva received permission from the Margilan police
department to attend the Embassy's 4th of July reception this
week. However, on July 2, Rasul told poloff that Mutabar
would not attend the reception, as she was warned by the
police on July 1 that she could have "problems" if she left
Margilan.



8. (C) Tojiboyeva had no plans to curtail her human rights
activism while she remained under the suspended sentenced,
noting "they can break my body, but they can never break my
spirit." Since her release from prison, Tojiboyeva has given
several interviews in which she is harshly critical of the
Karimov regime, most recently in a lengthy interview with the
independent Ferghana.ru website on June 24. On June 25,
Tojiboyeva told poloff that she was planning to make a
documentary on the Uzbek prison system entitled "Islands of
Torture."


9. (C) Tojiboyeva reported to poloff and Le Rigoleur that
she continues to be under heavy surveillance, noting that as
many as three cars are parked outside of her home or the
private medical clinic at any one time. Indeed, while
escorting poloff and Le Rigoleur out of the private clinic,
she pointed out a surveillance team and waved to them.

TOJIBOYEVA SAYS CONDITIONS AT PRISON IMPROVED OVER TIME
-------------- --------------


10. (C) Tojiboyeva told poloff and Le Rigoleur that
conditions at the Tashkent Women's Colony, where she was
imprisoned, improved after a new prison administrator was
appointed six months ago. After the change in prison
administration, Tojiboyeva said that she was treated "with
much greater respect" than before.


11. (C) Under the old prison administrator, Tojiboyeva noted
that she spent more than 100 days in isolated confinement,
including almost 50 days in winter, and was not given care
packages sent by her relatives. The cell in which she was
held was reportedly cold and damp, and she was not provided
with adequately warm clothing. Tojiboyeva believed that her
medical problems stemmed from the extreme cold she endured in
isolated confinement (Comment: Irregardless of whether this
is true or not, it is a common belief in the former Soviet
Union that many diseases are tied to the cold. End comment.)
She explained that her lawyers, which included her sister
and Tashkent-based human rights lawyer Rukhiddin Komilov,
were often prevented from visiting her. At one point, she
said that prison guards forced her to raise her arms above
her head for more than four hours, during which time she was
insulted and humiliated. In addition, she said that she was
often forced to work by prison guards despite her poor
medical condition. Prior to her conviction in 2006,
Tojiboyeva also reported that she was beaten by police while
in pre-trial detention in Ferghana.

HYSTERECTOMY REPORTEDLY COINCIDED WITH ICRC PRISON VISIT
-------------- --------------


12. (C) Tojiboyeva observed that her hysterectomy at the
Tashkent hospital coincided with the International Committee
of the Red Cross's (ICRC) visit to the Tashkent Women's
Colony on March 25 - April 1. According to Tojiboyeva, she
was released from the hospital on April 2, the day after the
ICRC ended its visit. Tojiboyeva had no doubts that
authorities purposely scheduled her surgery to overlap with
the ICRC visit. However, Tojiboyeva said she was later
interviewed by the ICRC during a later repeat visit to the
Tashkent Women's Colony. Prior to the ICRC visits,
Tojiboyeva reported that the prison administration attempted
to clean the prison and provide inmates with new clothes and
toiletries.

OBSERVES THAT CONVICTED TRAFFICKERS ARE NOT AMNESTIED
-------------- --------------


13. (C) Tojiboyeva reported that the Tashkent Women's Colony
held approximately 1,400 prisoners, and that many of those
convicted of "normal criminal offences" were amnestied each
year. She noted that women convicted of religious extremism
were not amnestied. Interestingly enough, she noted that
another group of women who were not amnestied were those
convicted of human trafficking. Tojiboyeva noted that these
women were not given "lengthy sentences," but served them out
(Comment: The Uzbeks have been criticized in the past for
amnestying individuals, especially women, who were convicted
for human trafficking. Tojiboyeva's observation, in addition
to information provided by the MFA this year for the annual
Trafficking-In-Persons (TIP) report, suggests that this
phenomenon is less prevalent than what might have earlier
been the case. End comment.)

FRENCH REQUEST THAT TOJIBOYEVA BE ALLOWED TO LEAVE UZBEKISTAN
FOR TREATMENT
-------------- --------------


14. (C) Le Rigoleur told Tojiboyeva that she was released
shortly after French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner had
sent a letter to President Karimov covering several issues of
bilateral interest, and which also specifically requested
that Karimov release Tojiboyeva. Le Rigoleur added that
President Karimov later told a visiting French delegation
that he had released Tojiboyeva because the French government
had asked him to do so. Shortly after Tojiboyeva's release,
the French Embassy also claimed credit in a press release on
its website (Comment: We believe that the French comments are
self-serving and that Tojiboyeva's release was the result of
intensive lobbying by several like-minded Embassies,
including the United States. It should be noted that
Tojiboyeva was released at almost exactly the same time
Assistant Secretary Richard Boucher was meeting with
President Karimov on June 2. End comment.)


15. (C) Le Rigoleur asked Tojiboyeva's permission for the
French Ambassador to request that the Uzbek government let
Tojiboyeva leave Uzbekistan to receive medical treatment
abroad. Tojiboyeva agreed, and then spoke briefly with the
French Ambassador by cell phone. After the meeting, Le
Rigoleur told poloff that the French government would be able
to pay at least part of the cost of sending Tojiboyeva abroad
for medical treatment, and noted that the German government
was also interested in providing medical assistance to
Tojiboyeva.


16. (C) Le Rigoleur later confirmed to poloff that the
French Ambassador requested that Tojiboyeva be allowed to
leave Uzbekistan during a meeting at the MFA on June 26. As
of July 1, the French Embassy has not yet received a response
from the MFA.

COMMENT
--------------


17. (C) Tojiboyeva stands tall as one of the most principled
and determined human rights activists in Uzbekistan. She has
suffered for it, yet remains indomitable. Given that she has
not been given an adequate diagnosis or explanation about her
illness by Uzbek doctors, we agree with the French that the
best option for Tojiboyeva would be for her to seek medical
treatment abroad. We also assess it would be in the best
interests of the Uzbeks to let her leave the country, as it
will be another public relations disaster for them if
Tojiboyeva's health continued to deteriorate in Uzbekistan.
It remains to be seen whether they will let her go.


18. (C) Tojiboyeva's observation that conditions at the

Tashkent Women's Colony began to improve roughly six months
ago also tracks with what we have heard from other activists
(representing different human rights organizations) about
conditions improving at Uzbek prisons in different regions of
the country. We believe that this improvement is directly
tied with the restart of ICRC prison visits in March, and
that the continuation of such visits remains the best hope
for encouraging further improvement in prison conditions. In
addition, we believe that Tojiboyeva's comment that women
convicted of human trafficking are among those not granted
amnesty indicates that the government is beginning to make
sure that convicted traffickers are serving real jail time.
NORLAND