English  |  Français  |  Español
 
OMCT LogoOMCT logo
Make a donationRSSOMCT on FacebookOMCT on TwitterOMCT BlogHomeAbout OMCTActivitiesCATOMCT NetworkOMCT EuropeContacts
  • Urgent campaigns
  • Assistance to victims
  • Human rights defenders
  • ESCR
  • Rights of the child
  • Violence against women
  • Monitoring protection mechanisms
 Save as PDF Print version
Urgent campaigns / Urgent Interventions / Uzbekistan / 2017 / October

Uzbekistan: Arbitrary detention of journalist Bobomurod Abdullaev, at risk of torture

Case UZB 131017
Arbitrary detention / Fear for the safety

 

The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Uzbekistan.

 

Brief description of the situation
 
The International Secretariat of the OMCT has been informed by reliable sources of the arbitrary arrest and detention of prominent independent journalist Bobomurod Abdullaev,[1] on what appear to be politically motivated charges. OMCT is extremely concerned for his safety, amid growing fears that he might be at risk of being tortured.

 

According to the information received, on September 27, 2017, Mr. Bobomurod Abdullaev, 44, went missing after leaving his house in Tashkent at around 13:30. He was held incommunicado until September 29, when authorities informed Mr. Abdullaev’s wife that he was detained on suspicion of theft. On the same day, the Uzbekistan’s National Security Services (SNB) searched his house for over five hours. His computer, technical equipment and books were confiscated.

 

On 1st October 2017, Yunusabad District Criminal Court in Tashkent in camera charged Mr. Abdullaev with “attempts to overthrow the constitutional order” under Article 159-4 of Uzbekistan’s Criminal Code and ordered his pre-trial detention. If convicted, Mr. Abdullaev faces up to 20 years in prison.

 

As of publishing this Urgent Appeal, Mr. Abdullaev would reportedly be held in a National Security Service (MXX) pre-trial detention centre. He has been denied access to a lawyer and family members; only his wife was allowed to see him briefly on 1st October.

 

The International Secretariat of the OMCT expresses its deep concern about the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Bobomurod Abdullaev, amid growing fears that he might be tortured in a country where torture remains endemic.

 

To that extent, the OMCT recalls that the UN Human Rights Committee (CCPR), in its concluding observations to Uzbekistan in 2015, had already denounced the “harassment, surveillance, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and ill-treatment by law enforcement officers and prosecutions on trumped-up charges of independent journalists, government critics and dissidents, human rights defenders and other activists, in retaliation for their work”[2].

 

OMCT urges the competent authorites of Uzbekistan to guarantee Mr. Abdullaev’s safety at all times, to immediately release him, to drop all charges against him since his arrest appears to be solely based on the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression, and to ensure, pending release, that he has full access to a lawyer of his choice and his family.

 

OMCT also urges the Uzbek authorities to guarantee the rights to freedom of expression protected under the Uzbek Constitution and international law, and reminds the Uzbek government of its international obligation to uphold the right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

 

Actions requested

 

Please write to the authorities in Uzbekistan urging them to:

 

      i.         Guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Abdullaev;

 

     ii.         Grant him full access to a lawyer of his choice and his family as well as guarantee that he is examined by independent doctors and receive adequate medical care if necessary;

 

   iii.         Immediately release Mr. Abdullaev and drop all criminal charges against him since his arrests appear to be solely based on the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression;

 

    iv.         Ensure the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.

 

Addresses

 

·       Mr. Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of Uzbekistan. Fax: +998 71 133 1395325. E-mail: presidents_office@press-service.uz
·       Mr. Azizov Abdusalom Abdumavlanovich, Minister of Internal Affairs. Fax: + 998 71 233 89 34. Email: mvd@mvd.uz, info@mvd.uz
·       Mr. Abdulaev Ikhtior Bakhtiorovich, General Prosecutor of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Fax: +998 71 133 39 17. E-mail: prokuratura@lawyer.com
·       Mr. Abdulaziz Komilov, Minister of Foreign Affairs. Fax: + 998 71 139 15 17. E-mail: rnews@mfa.uz
·       Ms. Ulugbek Mukhammadiev, Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights. Fax: +998 71 139 85 55. E-mail: office@ombudsman.gov.uz
·       Mr. Ulugbek Lapasov, Permanent Mission of Uzbekistan to the United Nations in Geneva. Fax: +41 22 799 43 02. Email:uzbekistan@bluewin.ch
·       H.E. Mr. Vladimir Norov, Ambassador, Embassy of Uzbekistan to Belgium. Fax. +32 2 672 39 46 Email: embassy@uzbekistan.be

 

Please also write to diplomatic representations of Uzbekistan in your respective countries. A list can be found here.

 

Geneva, 13 October 2017

 

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.


[1] Among others, Mr. Abdullaev is the founder of the media project Ozod Ovoz (Free Voice) and worked as a correspondent for the London-based Institute for War & Peace Reporting, as well as to the Uzbek service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, locally known as Ozodlik.
[2] CCPR/C/UZB/CO/4, para 23

 

Properties

Date: October 13, 2017
Activity: Urgent campaigns
Type: Urgent Interventions
Country: Uzbekistan
Subjects: Arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances, Threats, intimidation and harassment, Torture and violence

Share this

Tweet

Related articles

  • Uzbekistan:  Arbitrary arrest, ill-treatment and ongoing judicial harassment against Mr. Agzam Turgunov
    Urgent Interventions / September 6, 2018

Recently Viewed Articles

OMCT International Secretariat
PO Box 21, 8, rue du Vieux-Billard, CH-1211 Geneva 8, Switzerland
Phone: + 41 22 809 4939
Fax: + 41 22 809 4929
E-mail:
OMCT Europe
Rue Stevin 115
1000 Brussels
Tel. / Fax: +32 2 218 37 19
E-mail:
OMCT TUNIS
2, ave de France
Immeuble le National
(apt. 325) | Tunis 1000
E-mail:
  • Blog
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Rss