Uzbekistan: Yusuf Jumaev Allegedly Mistreated in Jaslyk

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 2018-12-22
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL UZ
SUBJECT: Uzbekistan: Yusuf Jumaev Allegedly Mistreated in Jaslyk
Prison

REF: a) A. 08 TASHKENT 947, b) B. 08 TASHKENT 843

CLASSIFIED BY: Timothy P Buckley, Second Secretary; REASON: 1.4(B),(D)


1. (C) On February 27 poloff met with Feruza Yusufjon Kizi, the
daughter of dissident poet Yusuf Jumaev, who is serving a five-year
sentence at the Jaslyk prison in the remote northwest province of
Karakalpakstan (ref B). Yusufjon Kizi was accompanied on the
unscheduled visit to the Embassy by Batir Norbaev, an Uzbek citizen
residing in Shymkent, Kazakhstan who introduced himself as a human
rights defender working with the Jumaev family (including Jumaev's
four sons who "are living as refugees" in Kazakhstan). Yusufjon
Kizi, who lives in the town of Karakul in Bukhara Province, told
poloff that she just returned from a visit with her father at the
prison, a trip which was delayed by the authorities. She said
prison policies allow only one visit per month "through walls,"
which necessitate phones to communicate and have an obscured view,
as well as one face-to-face visit per quarter. She thus had two
recent visits with her father, one on February 7 and another on
February 23.


2. (C) Yusufjon Kizi reported that her father, aged 51 and almost
one year into his sentence, was in poor and deteriorating health.
She said Jumaev had to endure a period of solitary confinement in
late December, and she alleged that he was beaten during this
timefame. (Note: She previously made similar allegations of
torture at the same prison after a visit in August 2008 -- ref A.
End note.) She said he was specifically beaten "in the chest and
head," and is suffering memory loss and other ill effects as a
result. Unlike the previous incident described in ref B, in which
prison officials beat Jumaev just a day before his daughter's
visit, this time she claimed the beating took place at the
beginning of the solitary confinement period, following which the
authorities refused to grant her a visit until February.


3. (C) Norbaev was specific in naming Kahramon Pirnazarov, the
Supervisor of the Jaslyk prison's First Unit, as responsible for
the mistreatment of Jumaev. Yusufjon Kizi described poor
conditions in the general inmate population, where up to 15
prisoners are typically crowded into a single room. Jumaev is also
reportedly very thin due to insufficient nutrition, especially
during solitary confinement. She said her father is incarcerated
the entire day and does not perform any labor. Norbaev said that
officials "merely put on a show" in the event of a visit by the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) or outside
observers, and they intend to continue punishing those such as
Jumaev.


4. (C) Yusufjon Kizi appeared sullen and dejected as a result of a
sustained ordeal involving the arrest and imprisonment of her
father (and another brother in a separate incident) as well as
subsequent pressure about the whereabouts of her four exiled
brothers. She has born the brunt of scrutiny at home in Karakul,
where unidentified henchmen continue to harass her. Her house was
recently robbed while she was away on the arduous trip to
Karakalpakstan, a crime she suspects was organized by officials who
knew exactly when her visit was granted.

Comment:
--------------


5. (C) As with Yusufjon Kizi's previous allegation that Jumaev was
beaten in prison, it is impossible to independently verify the
claims. It is clear that the extended Jumaev family continues to
pay a steep price for their outspoken 2007 protests over the
constitutionality of President Karimov's third term in office.
Life in Karakalpakstan -- remote, poverty-stricken, subject to
severe climate swings, and at the heart of the Aral Sea disaster --
is difficult in any circumstances, and Jumaev is certainly enduring
very difficult conditions at Jaslyk, which is far out of sight and
mind from Tashkent. This is probably what the Government of
Uzbekistan had in mind when it transferred him there after his
conviction. As international human rights groups continue to
monitor this case, we will continue to urge the Government of
Uzbekistan to improve the human rights situation in general and to
include Jumaev in any forthcoming amnesties.
BUTCHER

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