A well-known journalist, human rights defender and activist of the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan “Ezgulik”, Dilmurod Sayyid, who is serving a sentence in prison 64/36 in Navoi region of Uzbekistan, needs immediate medical checkup and qualified hospital care.

Dilmurod Sayyid’s brother Obid Saidov, who met him in prison in the middle of March this year, told mass media about his difficult physical condition. Their meeting was held in a special prison in Tashkent (Sangorod) for sick inmates, where the journalist was transferred because of his critical physical condition and severe illness.

According to Obid Saidov, Dilmurod suffers from tuberculosis, lost much weight and now weighs only 52 kilograms (114 pounds). During their meeting, imprisoned rights defender told his brother that in February he was placed in a solitary confinement for 10 days for alleged “violation of rules of the prison.” Dulmurod Sayyid was punished as he refused to perform the physical work, which was assigned to him for sending messages outside the prison.

Regulatory rules of penitentiary system in Uzbekistan prohibit placing sick prisoners to isolating cells. According to the procedure, in order to place a prisoner in a solitary confinement, prison’s medical personnel must confirm the healthy condition of the person.

Given the critical health conditions of the human rights activist, we demand to bring to justice the medical personnel and prison staff, according to the laws of the Republic of Uzbekistan, for fabricating documents of Dilmurod Sayyid when placing him in a punishment cell.

We believe that it is necessary to provide him with legal assistance and to establish the legitimacy of actions of those, who placed the rights defender in a solitary confinement.

Given the difficult physical condition of the human rights activist and journalist Dilmurod Sayyid, the Human rights organization “Fiery Hearts Club” calls upon the International Committee of the Red Cross, the international medical humanitarian organization “Médecins Sans Frontières” and other organizations to urgently intervene in the situation of the Uzbek human rights defender and take all the necessary steps to provide him with medical and humanitarian aid.

We are convinced that non-interference of the influential international organizations in the case of Dilmurod Sayyid may worsen his situation, as the prison’s medical personnel has systematically ignored all his previous appeals for adequate medical care.

We are well aware of the way of thinking and behavior of the Uzbek authorities, who encourage torture and inhuman treatment methods against detainees in prisons, especial those, who fought against the human rights violations and defended the rule of law in the country. As their appeals for timely medial checkup and treatment are constantly ignored, jailed rights activists, journalists and other political prisoners eventually lose their health and capacity, and it is the ultimate goal of the authorities of Uzbekistan.

The current geopolitical situation between Uzbekistan and the Western countries gives us hope that the international organizations, such as International Committee of the Red Cross, international medical humanitarian organization “Médecins Sans Frontières” may be allowed to meet with Dilmurod Sayyid and other political prisoners in Uzbekistan.

Mutabar Tadjibayeva,

Head of the International Human Rights Organization “Fiery Hearts Club”