EMBASSY TASHKENT HOSTS ROUNDTABLE ON IMPRISONED

C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 000927 SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA, DRL, SCA/PPD, AND INR E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/12/2018 TAGS: PHUM KDEM KPAO ICRC PGOV PINR PREL UZ SUBJECT: EMBASSY TASHKENT HOSTS ROUNDTABLE ON IMPRISONED OPPOSITIONIST REF: A. TASHKENT 854 ¶B. TASHKENT 819 ¶C. TASHKENT 893 ¶D. TASHKENT 403 ¶E. TASHKENT 702 Classified By: POLOFF R. FITZMAURICE FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D) ¶1. (SBU) Summary: On August 6, poloff hosted an informal roundtable at the Embassy with Arslan Umarov, the son of imprisoned Sunshine Coalition leader Sanjar Umarov. The roundtable was attended by the Charge, the Swiss Ambassador, the French and Italian DCMs, and officers from the German and British Embassies. It served as a follow-up to a DRL-sponsored "Prisoners of Conscience" panel discussion held at the United Nations on July 24 at which Umarov's other son Gulam spoke. The roundtable also enabled Arslan to share with European Embassies information regarding his father's deteriorating health in prison (ref A) and allowed Western diplomats to formulate a common message on Umarov to deliver to the Uzbek government. End summary. FOLLOW-UP TO DRL PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE EVENT -------------- - ¶2. (U) Poloff began the event by welcoming Arslan Umarov and noting that the Embassy continues to closely monitor his father's health condition in prison and has advocated with the government for his release on medical grounds. Poloff also informed the attendees of a DRL-sponsored panel discussion hosted by the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York entitled "Courageous Voices: Speaking Out for Prisoners of Conscience," which featured Arslan's brother Gulam as one of the speakers. Poloff also made available copies of a U.S. State Department press release on Gulam's speech at the event. In addition, poloff explained that the Embassy continues to closely monitor the cases of several other individuals who have been recently detained or imprisoned on politically-motivated charges, including former Radio Free Europe journalist Salidjahon Abdurakhmanov, human rights activist Akzam Turgunov, and two Margilan-based Jehovah's Witness congregants (refs B and C). UMAROV DISCUSSES CONDITION OF FATHER'S IMPRISONMENT -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) After the introduction, Arslan Umarov, who normally resides in the United States with the rest of his immediate family, described his father's deteriorating health. Arslan said that he last visited his father at the Qizil-Tepe prison in Navoi province on July 19. His father's health appeared to be worse than during previous visits. Arslan said that his father had lost so much weight that he resembled "a concentration camp victim." When he hugged his father, he said that he could feel the ribs in his back, as there was little muscle or fat mass remaining, "just skin and bones." He also reported that his father had difficulty walking, speaking, eating, and sleeping and appeared to be in a confused mental state. Arslan speculated that his father might have been given psychotropic drugs. He also noted that his father had mysterious marks on the back of his legs. ¶4. (C) Arslan explained the difficult conditions his father has endured while imprisoned. He said that his father was first detained in pre-trial detention in October 2005. In March 2006, he was convicted on politically-motivated charges of tax evasion and illegal commodities trading (his sentence was eventually reduced to seven years and eight months on humanitarian grounds). In May 2006, Sanjar Umarov was transferred to the Qizil-Tepe prison. According to Arslan, the approximately 3,000 inmates at Qizil-Tepe are required to work at a brick-making factory adjacent to the prison. He said that his father was one of only three inmates at the prison who was required to work inside the factory's brick furnace, which is considered to be the most difficult and dangerous job. After three days of working in the furnace, his father refused to work further and was thrown in solitary confinement for three weeks. Following his release, Sanjar Umarov briefly went back to the furnace, but after eventually refusing to work again, he was reportedly placed in solitary confinement for 14 months. Arslan also shared with the attendees enlarged Google Earth aerial photographs of Qizil-Tepe, which showed the location of the prison, nearby factory, and isolation cells. ¶5. (C) Arslan said that he was able to visit his father twice in the summer of 2006. He said that his father's health at the time was stable but had already begun to deteriorate. After his father's 14-month stint in solitary confinement, Arslan was able to visit his father again in July 2007. At the time, Arslan said that his father's mental condition had worsened and he was speaking incoherently. From that point onwards, Arslan and other family members were able to visit Sanjar approximately once every three months. Arslan reported that his father's condition began to take another serious turn for the worse in March (ref D). Arslan said that he will have one last chance to see his father before he departs Uzbekistan again and offered to provide an update on his father's health to the attendees via poloff. ¶6. (C) While the news about Umarov's deteriorating health was reported on independent websites, it still appeared to be new information for some of the European diplomats. For example, German Political Officer Uwe Berndt said that he had not heard of Umarov's deteriorating condition and planned to cable Berlin that night with the news. UMAROV DESCRIBES ADVOCACY EFFORTS BY HIS FAMILY -------------- -- ¶7. (C) Arslan reported that his family has repeatedly attempted to advocate for Sanjar Umarov's behalf with the government. He reported that his family has sent numerous letters to all relevant government bodies - including the Presidential Apparatus, the Supreme Court, the National Security Service, the General Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) and its Prisons Directorate (GUIN),the Human Rights Ombudsman's Office, and the National Human Rights Center - asking that his father be amnestied or released on humanitarian grounds. Arslan said his family rarely received replies, and the replies they did receive invariably stated that Umarov had been duly convicted of his alleged crimes and was ineligible for amnesty as he had violated internal prison regulations (Note: Political prisoners are routinely accused of violating internal prison regulations in order to disqualify them for the annual amnesty. End note). ¶8. (C) Arslan reported that according to Uzbek law, Sanjar Umarov could be released from prison if he paid the 8.6 million dollar fine that was levied against him at trial. Umarov reported that his family was unable to pay such a large fine, as the government had already confiscated most of their former property and business interests. Arslan provided the attendees with a list of property that had been confiscated by the government from the Umarov family. Arslan said that almost all of the property belonged to Sanjar's brothers and not Sanjar himself. He estimated that the property's combined worth was about 10 million dollars. He noted that almost none of the confiscated property was counted towards Sanjar's fine. ¶9. (C) Arslan said that he had met with representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC),which restarted prison visits in Uzbekistan in February. The ICRC representatives reportedly told Arslan that they have not yet visited the Qizil-Tepe prison, where his father is being held, and would not say if they planned to visit the prison in the future. UMAROV PROVIDES BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON FATHER'S CASE -------------- -------------- ¶10. (C) Umarov also recalled the history of his father's involvement in the opposition Sunshine Coalition, a pro-democracy secular opposition movement. He described his father as an idealist who sought to unite independent groups to engage in dialogue with the Uzbek government and encourage gradual democratic and economic reforms. He stressed that his father publicly affirmed his allegiance to the Uzbek Constitution and disavowed any attempts to force President Karimov from power. Arslan believes that his father was making progress until the government unleashed a ruthless crackdown of all perceived opposition groups following the May 2005 Andijan events. While Sanjar Umarov was a successful businessman, Arslan noted that by the time he formed the Sunshine Coalition, Sanjar had few remaining business interests in Uzbekistan. According to Arslan, Sanjar's two brothers controlled the delivery of oil to the Ferghana Valley through Tajikistan and were far wealthier than Sanjar himself. A (FORMERLY) WELL-CONNECTED FAMILY -------------- ¶11. (C) Before his father's imprisonment, Arslan noted that his family had well-developed connections among Uzbekistan's elite. He said that his great-grandfather served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan in the 1950s. He also noted that National Security Service (NSS) Chairman Rustam Inoyatov was a distant relative (Sanjar Umarov's sister-in-law is married to Inoyatov's brother). Soon after the American invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, Arslan said that Inoyatov provided his father with a monopoly on renewed trade with Afghanistan across the Friendship Bridge at Termez. As soon as his father was arrested, though, Arslan explained that his family's contacts became afraid to be associated with them and have not been able to do much to help Sanjar. In addition, many of his father's former contacts in government have since lost their positions. ¶12. (C) Arslan reported that Rafik Sayfullin, the former head of Uzbekistan's Strategic Studies Institute and now an "independent" political consultant, served as an informal consultant for the Sunshine Coalition before his father's imprisonment. In June, Sayfullin traveled to Washington, where he met with Gulam about Sanjar Umarov (Sayfullin also had meetings on other topics with U.S. government officials and representatives of non-governmental organizations). According to Arslan, upon his return, Sayfullin briefed National Security Council Chairman Rustam Ataev and Inoyatov on his trip to Washington. However, Sayfullin reportedly told Arslan that "no one" wants to brief President Karimov on Umarov's case, as Karimov "is paranoid" and has a tendency "to shoot the messenger." ¶13. (C) The Umarov family has hired Anatoliy Lisunov, who served as the director of the Qizil-Tepe prison in the 1980s, to serve as Sanjar Umarov's lawyer. Lisunov knows the current director of the Qizil-Tepe prison well, having served at one point as his supervisor. However, Lisunov was reportedly told by the current prison director that Sanjar Umarov was under the "special control of Tashkent," and he therefore could not intervene to improve conditions for him. The prison official even allegedly refused to accept a bribe from Lisunov. Arslan speculated that his father was under the "special control" of President Karimov, and only Karimov could decide whether to improve conditions for Umarov or not. UMAROV SAYS SUNSHINE COALITION STILL ACTIVE -------------- ¶14. (C) Arslan said that the Sunshine Coalition was still active and was now registered as a non-profit organization in the United States. While their main focus continues to be Sanjar Umarov's release, Arslan said that the Sunshine Coalition - now headed by his older brother Gulam - continues to work on other human rights issues. For example, Arslan reported that the Sunshine Coalition operates a fund to support human rights defenders in Uzbekistan, conducts research on the use of child labor in Uzbekistan's annual cotton harvest, and is working with a group of American and Uzbek economists to promote economic reforms in Uzbekistan. SANJAR'S WIFE GAINS AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP -------------- ¶15. (C) Arslan also reported that his mother had finally become a naturalized United States citizen in June. Arslan's two sisters were born in the United States and are already citizens. Arslan reported that his mother is interested in traveling to Uzbekistan on her American passport to visit her husband, but she is afraid to leave her daughters alone in the United States. According to Arslan, the daughters have applied for Uzbek visas with the Uzbek Embassy in Washington, but have not yet received a response. REACTION OF EUROPEAN DIPLOMATS -------------- ¶16. (C) After Arslan's presentation, the attendees discussed what steps the West could take to intervene on Sanjar Umarov's behalf with the Uzbek government. French DCM Christophe Le Rigoleur believed that issuing an EU declaration on Umarov would be counterproductive. He noted that the treatment of human rights activist Mutabar Tojiboyeva, who was released from prison in May, appeared to worsen every time the EU issued a declaration on her case. German Political Officer Uwe Berndt agreed with Le Rigoleur that the Uzbek government did not respond well to public pressure. He also expressed his belief that having high-level officials raise Umarov's case with government officials was possible but probably would be ineffective. British Political Officer Ben Greenwood believed it was important to raise Umarov's case with government officials, but likewise cautioned that is was unlikely to result in Umarov's release. The EU officials also assured Arslan that his father was on a list of political prisoners that it had presented to the government and that the EU continues to urge the Uzbeks to release greater numbers of political prisoners (Note: Umarov is also on a list of political prisoners that the Embassy presented to the government earlier this year. End note.) ¶17. (C) In the end, all of the attendees agreed that the best approach was for the United States and European Embassies to privately express concerns to the government over reports of Umarov's worsening health and request that he be released on medical grounds. As poloff noted, Umarov's release would be in the government's best interest, as his deteriorating health is becoming another public relations disaster for the Karimov regime. ARSLAN DISCUSSES CONFLICTING REPORTS IN PREVIOUS MEETING -------------- -------------- ¶18. (C) Poloff also met separately with Arslan on July 23. At that meeting, poloff inquired with Arslan about a report from June that Umarov's condition had improved in prison, which had been relayed to poloff by Sunshine Coalition member Nigara Khidoyatova (ref E). Arslan reported that his aunt had visited Umarov in June, but she could only see him through glass. After that meeting, the aunt told Arslan that Umarov's mental condition had appeared to improve since she last saw him in March, but also noted that his body was covered in a black robe and it was difficult to assess his general health. Arslan added that his family did not share everything they know about Umarov with Khidoyatova, as they did not fully trust her. COMMENT -------------- ¶19. (C) The informal roundtable served as a substantive follow-up to the DRL-sponsored "Prisoner of Conscience" panel discussion at the United Nations and provided Arslan Umarov with the opportunity to share with European diplomats information about his father's deteriorating health in prison. It also enabled Western diplomats in Tashkent the opportunity to formulate a common message to deliver to the government on the issue. Arslan appears to be a sincere young man and genuinely worried about his father's worsening health. While it is impossible for us to verify his information, we believe that it is credible. BUTCHER