Uzbekistan: Yusuf Jumaev Allegedly Mistreated in Jaslyk

C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 000242 SIPDIS AMEMBASSY HELSINKI PASS TO AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PASS TO AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PASS TO AMCONSUL YEKATERINBURG AMEMBASSY ASTANA PASS TO USOFFICE ALMATY AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PASS TO AMCONSUL HYDERABAD 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 To view the entire SMART message, go to URL http://repository.state.sgov.gov/_layouts/OSS SearchResults.aspx?k=messageid:dd217356-1e2c- 48d8-ac55-a395b6165e9a