In February 2008, the Uzbek Society of Disabled Persons started a project “Establishment of telecommunication centers for people with disabilities.” The goal of the project was to provide free access to the Internet for people with disabilities in Uzbekistan.

The project, supported by the Ministry for Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan (MVESIT), was financed by the Partnership Fund for Gratuitous Assistance of the Government of Japan and the Japanese Embassy in Tashkent. The total project cost was $ 352,000.

In September 2008, Oybek Isakov, head of the Uzbek Society of the Disabled, was arrested by the operative officers of the General Prosecutor’s Office and National Security Service when extorting a $ 1,000 bribe from a born-disabled person. Isakov was charged with five articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan (167, 205, 207, 209, and 210), but despite this, he was released by the court on probation.

The investigation and the trial found that the only culprit on the case of stealing the project money was born-disabled O. Rasulev. Despite his intellectual disabilities, in January 2008 O. Rasulev was appointed director of the subsidiary company “Technobios plus”, established on the basis of the Uzbek Society of the Disabled. It was done in order to put all the responsibility for stealing money on him, and later release him by the amnesty.

Husan Husanov, investigator at the Prosecutor’s Office of the Tashkent city, who led investigation on the case of stealing project money, is widely known for his corrupt work and lack of principles. Instead of finding and bring to justice the real perpetrators of the crime, he ruled against an innocent and disabled person.

Criminal court of Yunusabad district of Tashkent fully supported the prosecution, and applied an amnesty to O. Rasulev amnesty on condition that he would cover the financial damage in favor of the Uzbek Society of the Disabled. However, due to the fact that O. Rasulev did not own property and was financially dependent on his parents, the amount of damage remained unreturned.

Each deal of this kind, and especially when it involves modern technology, is carefully checked and monitored by the National Security Service of Uzbekistan. It would be impossible to carry out such crime without the personal involvement and protection of corrupt officials at NSS MVESIT.

These corrupt officials, who are the main perpetrators of the crime and have received their “share” from it, are as usual out of suspicion. Performers of the crime are also behind the scene, as they are protected by corrupt officials.

After monitoring of the project for its implementation, the experts of the International human rights organization “Fiery Hearts Club” concluded that:

– The project was not implemented;

– The project funds were stolen by a group people;

– About 300-400 disabled persons had free access to the Internet for a period of 4 months;

– Born-disabled O. Rasulev, who had no relation to the crime, was tried for stealing project money;

– Investigation of the crime was one-sided and not objective. As a consequence, the main perpetrators of the crime were not punished;

– The main perpetrators of the theft are corrupt officials of the National Security Service of Uzbekistan and MVESIT, whose guilt must be legally identified and punished according to the laws of Uzbekistan.

On July 7, 2008, Uzbekistan adopted a law “On joining of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the United Nations Convention against Corruption”, which obliges the country to use drastic measures to fight corruption at all levels of government. The international organization “Transparency International”, put Uzbekistan on 6th place from the bottom in its Corruption Perceptions Index for 2012, which is a very depressing fact.

In order to eradicate corruption in the National Security Service of Uzbekistan, Prosecutor General’s Office and MVESIT, the International human rights organization “Fiery Hearts Club” calls upon the heads of these agencies re-launch the investigation of criminal case and identify all the corrupt officials, who participated in stealing funds intended for the disabled persons.

We also call on NGOs, international organizations, diplomatic missions and embassies located in the Republic of Uzbekistan to be more careful in the selection of partners among local NGOs, even if they are recommended by top officials of the state agencies.

International human rights organizations

“Fiery Hearts Club”