UZBEKISTAN: PUBLIC DEFENDER CENTERS IN NEED OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 000926

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA, DRL, EUR/ACE, INL, USAID
EUR/ACE FOR RICK STODDARD, INL FOR ANDREW BUHLER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/12/2018
TAGS: PHUM EAID KJUS PGOV PREL SOCI UZ
SUBJECT: UZBEKISTAN: PUBLIC DEFENDER CENTERS IN NEED OF
ADDITIONAL FUNDING

REF: TASHKENT 741

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


1. (C) Summary: During a July 26-29 Freedom House conference
in Istanbul for Uzbek human rights activists and
state-licensed defense lawyers (septel),poloff had the
opportunity to meet with several lawyers who work at Public
Defender Centers supported by the American Bar Association
Rule of Law Initiative (ABA/ROLI) and USAID. The lawyers
reported that the Centers have attracted increasing numbers
of individuals seeking pro bono assistance, some of whom were
referred there by local officials. While the lawyers
believe that the Centers will eventually become
self-sufficient, that goal has not yet been achieved. As
USAID funding for the Centers will run out in the next few
months, we believe that additional funding should be found,
especially considering that this is one of the few
human-rights related programs in Uzbekistan that has both
benefited ordinary citizens and won the support of local
authorities.


2. (C) Separately, polofQmet with lawyers from the Tashkent
Bar Association, who discussed their recent projects;
expressed continued concern over a draft law that threatens
the independence of the National Bar Association; and
reported that the government intends to amend the criminal
code to prevent human rights activists from serving as public
defenders. End summary.

PUBLIC DEFENDER CENTERS
--------------


3. (C) During the Istanbul conference, poloff had the
opportunity to talk at length with lawyers who work at Public
Defender Centers in Nukus and Ferghana. The Public Defender
Centers program is administered by the American Bar
Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA/ROLI) program and
funded by USAID. It includes offshore trainings for the
lawyers and fiQcial contributions towards the operations of
the Centers. USAID funding for the Centers is set to expire
in the next few months.


4. (C) The lawyers explained that the Centers are co-located
with private law firms, whose lawyers spend part of their
time providing pro bono assistance to those in need. They
said that Centers mostly handled ordinary criminal cases,
such as drug possession cases. The Nukus-based lawyer said
that her center never dealt with "political cases," but the
Ferghana-based lawyer said that her center had provided
assistance in cases involving allegations of torture against
law enforcement officials. Both lawyers reported that their
Centers have attracted increasing numbers of individuals
seeking pro bono legal assistance as previous clients have
spread the word to others in need. The lawyers explained
that while Uzbek law guarantees legal representation to all
defendants, court-appointed lawyers are widely mistrusted and
seen as either incompetent or collaborating with prosecutors.
On the other hand, they noted that the Centers are seen as
providing competent and trustworthy legal counsel. The
lawyers explained that the Public Defender Centers program
have significantly raised the profiles of their private law
firms and helped attract paying clients. While the lawyers
believed that the Centers will eventually become
self-sustaining, they observed that this goal has not yet
been achieved.


5. (C) The lawyers also reported that the Centers have won
acceptance by local officials. They reported that some of
their clients were referred to the Centers by prosecutors,

judges, and law enforcement officials. According to the
lawyers, the officials have grown to respect the Centers, as
they have provided defendants with more competent legal
counsel than they would have otherwise received. This in
turn has provided strong motivation for prosecutors and
judges to increase their own professionalism.

LAWYERS BENEFIT FROM OVERSEAS TRAINING
--------------


6. (C) The lawyers at the Istanbul Conference also reported
greatly benefiting from offshore training conducted by
ABA/ROLI and others. The Nukus-based lawyer reported a
positive experience participating in an ABA training for
lawyers, prosecutors, and judges in Eastern Europe in 2006.
She said that the joint-training helped break down the divide
between the lawyers and the government officials, with whom
she reportedly maintains good relations. The Ferghana-based
lawyer also recalled a similarly positive experience
participating in a joint-training with lawyers, prosecutors,
and judges that was held in England in 2005.


7. (C) Poloff is currently attempting to organize an
International Visitor's (IV) program for lawyers at the
Nukus, Ferghana, and Tashkent Public Defenders Center and two
lawyers from the Tashkent Bar Association. The program will
provide the opportunity for the lawyers to meet with American
experts on pro bono legal assistance and learn more about the
operations of legal clinics in the United States. If the
nominations are successful, the program will take place
sometime in 2009.

TASHKENT BAR ASSOCIATION PROGRAMS
--------------


8. (C) At the Istanbul conference, Tashkent Bar Association
(TBA) Chairperson Gulnora Ishankhanova and TBA Projects and
International Law Issues Consultant Guljakhon Amanova
discussed with poloff the activities of their organization,
which is funded by USAID (via ABA/ROLI) and the State
Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law
Enforcement (INL). They noted that TBA reached an agreement
with the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) to create a list
of competent defense attorneys to serve as court-appointed
defense lawyers. The MVD has agreed that it would only refer
individuals on the list as defense lawyers (the list includes
lawyers at the Public Defender Centers). Ishankhanova and
Amanova reported that a study had previously shown that as
many as 45 percent of defendants in Uzbekistan lacked legal
representation because they mistrusted court-appointed
lawyers. As the TBA's list of competent lawyers has been
gradually implemented across the country, she noted that this
percentage has steadily decreased.


9. (C) Amanova also reported that TBA has created a legal
clinic in Tashkent where law school students provide free
legal advice to those in need. She said that 35 law students
currently participate in the program. She added that the TBA
was considering whether to expand the program by opening new
legal clinics in other regions of the country.

CONTINUED CONCERN OVER DRAFT BAR ASSOCIATION LAW
-------------- ---


10. (C) Ishankhanova and Amanova voiced concern about a
draft law on the National Bar Association circulating among
the government. They explained that the draft law followed a
May 1 Presidential Decree on the National Bar Association,
which was seen as reform-orientated. However, the lawyers
explained that in its current form, the draft law was

regressive, as it permitted the Ministry of Justice to select
the heads of the National Bar Association and its regional
branches (including the TBA),who are currently selected by
their members (reftel). The lawyers speculated that
authorities might have feared that the Presidential Decree
had granted too much independence to the country's bar
associations. They were afraid that the draft law could be
passed during Parliament's August session and were seeking
to lobby against its adoption (septel). The lawyers noted
that the draft law preserved some positive aspects of the
Presidential Decree, including granting the National Bar
Association responsibility for licensing and disciplining
lawyers and overseeing law school standards and admissions.

CRIMINAL CODE AMENDED ON PUBLIC DEFENDERS
--------------


11. (C) Ishankhanova and Amanova also reported that the
government planned to amend Uzbekistan's criminal code so
that only state licensed-defense lawyers will be able to
represent individuals in a court of law. Previously,
individuals without a state license (often human rights
activists) could represent individuals at trial as "public
defenders." Ishankhanova and Amanova expected that the
change will go into effect in September (Note: Human rights
activists have reported the same information to poloff. End
note.) Ishankhanova and Amanova said that while the
criminal code amendment was ostensibly aimed at keeping
unqualified lawyers out of the courtroom, in reality it seeks
to prevent human rights activists from serving as public
defenders in sensitive cases (Note: Human rights activists
will still able to observe trials, but they will not be able
to represent individuals without a license. End note.)
Ishankhanova and Amanova explained that human rights
activists often served as public defenders for individuals in
political cases who have difficulty finding state-licensed
attorneys willing to represent them.

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


12. (C) We believe that the Public Defenders Centers is a
successful project that is now in need of additional funding.
The Centers represent a rare example of a human
rights-related project in Uzbekistan that has managed to both
benefit ordinary people and win the support of local
authorities. As USAID funding for the Centers ends in a few
months, we support trying to find another means to keep the
centers afloat, such as through additional USAID funding or
funding from another source, such as the Bureau of
International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL),the Bureau
of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL),or the Office of
the Coordinator of U.S. Assistance to Europe and Eurasia
(EUR/ACE).
BUTCHER