High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Ms. Catherine Ashton, is expected to visit Uzbekistan on November 26-30 as a part of her work mission to Central Asian.

During the visit, Catherine Ashton will meet with the senior governmental officials in Uzbekistan, in particular, with the President Islam Karimov.

We consider it appropriate and necessary to hold a dialogue between EU and authoritarian regime of Uzbekistan, for the sake of human rights and freedoms. We believe that this is one of the important factors for promotion of the sustainable liberal democracy.

However, we, civil society representatives, are convinced that Ms. Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, cannot avoid the question of politically motivated murders or murder attempts that target citizens of Uzbekistan who are under the protection of EU member states.

In February, this year, well-known Uzbek imam Obidkhon Nazarov, who received a refugee status in Sweden by the UNHCR mandate, was shot in front of his house in Strömsund. Currently he is in coma.

The conclusions of the investigation, the state prosecution and the sentence of judge, who conducted the case of attack against imam, clearly mentioned that the Uzbek authorities had been behind this assassination attempt. The investigation has established conclusively that citizens of Uzbekistan organized surveillance and attempted to kill Obidkhon Nazarov, and their activities had been well-financed.

Sweden is a member of the EU. Murder attempt against the refugee, who is protected by Sweden, and boldly carried out on the territory of this country, of course, must be publicly and clearly raised at the meeting of Ms.Catherine Ashton with the Uzbek authorities.

We, representatives of human rights defenders, expect that after the meeting with the Uzbek authorities Ms. Catherine Ashton will inform the public about the reaction of the authorities to the question of politically-motivated murder attempts.

We seriously hope that the European Union, as one of the historical epicenters for human rights and democracy, will find the will, the strength and integrity to publicly demand that official Tashkent cease politically motivated killings of refugees, who are under protection of EU.

We are convinced that the lack of a clear position of EU concerning politically motivated murder attempts against independent individuals, undesirable for official Tashkent, can lead to the fact that such practices continue in the long term and increase in quantity.

Mutabar Tadjibayeva,
Head of the International Human Rights
organization “Fiery Hearts Club” Paris, France.
“Mutabar Tadjibaeva” mutabartadjibaeva@gmail.com
Mob: +33679233927
Office: +33950147243

Talib Yakubov,
Honorary President of the
International Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan
Tel. +33(0)241667961

Kamoliddin RABBIMOV,
The Director of the Centre for political Studies
“LIGLIS-CENTER”, France.
Tel : +33 6 22 41 86 65

Maryna Lebedeva,
The founder of the student movement
“Flaming Hearts”
Tel: +33698097225