To Mr.Sadullah Ergin, the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Turkey.

Dear Mr.Sadullah Ergin,

Let me express my sincere respect and honor to you on behalf of International Human Rights Organization “FieryHearts Club”, which deals with human rights issues, monitoring and investigative journalism as well as promotion of the civil society development in Uzbekistan and Central Asia as a whole.

As the leader of such a significant institution, you probably have been informed about the socio- political situation in Uzbekistan, where one of the most brutal dictators of modern times Islam Karimov and his relatives have been ruling for twenty-five years, oppressing the people of Uzbekistan and shamelessly plundering the country’s wealth. Tyranny, cruelty, lawlessness and corruption prevail in the country, not the rule of law.

Though Tashkent officially claims that “…a favorable investment climate was created during the years of the Independence of the Republic of Uzbekistan as well as a broad system of legal guarantees and privileges for foreign investors…” in fact, investments in Uzbekistan are subject to great risks due to state intervention in the economy which ultimately leads to seizure of businesses from foreign investors. One of such examples is actions of the official Tashkent against Turkish companies in Uzbekistan.

Over sixty Uzbek-Turkish joint ventures were closed in the country were in 2009-2012 under the pretext of violations of the tax and customs legislation, and administrative and criminal proceedings were taken against their leaders. In addition, some leaders of Turkish commercial structures were accused of distributing banned literature promoting activities of radical religious organizations. Some Turkish citizens were illegally detained in detention centers of the Uzbek security services, where they were subject to tortures and humiliation. Turkey considers Uzbekistan as its friend and partner, but the Uzbek authorities depict Turkish businessmen as terrorists, closing their businesses and deporting Turkish citizens from the country.

Trying to protect their interests in Uzbekistan, Turkish business structures ‘Gunes Tekstil Konfeksiyon Sanayive Ticaret Ltd’ and ‘Federal Elektrik Yatırımve Ticaret A.Ş.’ filed charges in September 2013 to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID, USA, Washington).

The world community has stopped trusting the Uzbek authorities. In the annual 2013 Index of Economic Freedom, Uzbekistan was ranked 162 out of 177 existing countries as “a country with unfree economy”. In the final 2012 report, Transparency International ranked Uzbekistan 170 out of 174 countries in the Corruption Perception Index.

The scale of corruption in Uzbekistan has expanded so much, that the law enforcement agencies of Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, France and Latvia brought criminal proceedings against Uzbek citizens for large-scale financial frauds, bribery and money laundering. The main persons involved in those cases are members of the presidential family.

Scandalous events in the family of Islam Karimov, which have been made public, confirm the absence of moral values ​​and commitment to the traditional religion of his family.

On 22 October 2013, our organization published the story entitled “Karimov’s sister-in-law buys expensive property abroad”, which stated that President’s wife’s sister Tamara Sabirova purchased an expensive property in Istanbul. Our organization has learned that Sabirova bought a 496-square-meter apartment in Kadıköy district, the estimated price of which is 3.8 million U.S. dollars.

(Read more at www.jarayon.com/en/index.php/politics/item/171-%E2%80%9Cjarayon%E2%80%9Ds-reader-karimovs-sister-in-law-buys-expensive-property-abroad):

According to unconfirmed information, recently Tamara Sabirova purchased a number of expensive immovable properties worth of tens of millions of dollars in elite and resort areas of Turkey.

On the eve of the presidential elections in the country, clan struggle for the presidency has intensified, resulting in mid-October arrest of Akbarali Abdullayev, Tamara Sabirova’s son, who used to control the entire economic and socio-political sector of the Fergana Valley, where 45 percent of the population lives.

Dear Mr.Sadullah Ergin,

Corruption is a complex social, political and economic phenomenon, which in varying degrees affects all countries. Corruption undermines democratic institutions, slows down economic growth and undermines the foundations of the state. Corruption affects the foundation of democratic institutions through distortion of the electoral process, distortion of the principle of the rule of law and creation of bureaucratic barriers, the only purpose of which is extortion of bribes.

On the eve of December 9, International Anti-Corruption Day, International Human Rights Organization “Fiery Hearts Club”calls you to have the watchful eye of the Turkish justice turn its attention to financial transactions carried out by Tamara Sabirova in Turkey as well as to documentary proof of legitimacy of the origin of her finances in the country.

The Republic of Turkey should not become a haven for dictators and their relatives as their generous investments in your country are soaked with blood of millions of people. The Republic of Turkey is on the threshold of joining the European Union, and this momentous event should not be clouded by such facts.

International Human Rights Organization “Fiery Hearts Club”has high hopes that you will consider our request with understanding and it will be your great contribution to fight against the international corruption system.

Mutabar Tadjibayeva,

Head of “Fiery Hearts Club”

International Human Rights Organization

30 November, 2013

Paris, France