Capital of Sweden, Stockholm, is hosting an international conference for human rights defenders who put their lives at risk. Head of the Human Rights Alliance of Uzbekistan, Yelena Urlayeva, who previously reported that the Uzbek authorities were strongly obstructing her participation at this event, was finally able to fly from Tashkent to Stockholm.

On Tuesday, April 2, a four-day conference entitled “Human rights defenders day – strengthening the capacity of human rights defenders at risk”, organized by the Civil Rights Defenders, started in Stockholm, Sweden.

According to organizers, the event is held for human rights defenders from the regions and countries with the biggest problems in the field of human rights. Conference organizers also intend to establish an annual forum that consolidates and strengthens the capacity for international recognition of human rights defenders at risk.

Uzbek human rights defenders Mutabar Tajibaeva, head of International human rights organization “Fiery Hearts Club”, Yelena Urlayeva, head of the Human Rights Alliance of Uzbekistan, were also invited to participate in this event.

– At the conference I will be talking mostly about human rights problems, pressure put on human rights activists, and raise the issue of political prisoners in Uzbekistan. Also, I will present facts about the prisoners, who have not been released under amnesty, – said Mutabar Tajibaeva to “Jarayon” on her way to the conference.

The other Uzbek rights activists invited to the conference, Yelena Urlayeva, reported to independent media that the Uzbek authorities were preventing her participating in this event.

In her letter to journalists on April 1 Urlayeva wrote:

“Today, on April 1, 2013 there were provocative actions against me by a neighbor from apartment #6 house #481 located on Buyuk Ipak Yuli street in Tashkent and a policeman named Abdusamad.

At the moment, the local policeman is standing at the door of my apartment, #7 in the same house, and accusing me of hooliganism, demanding to open the door, and threatening to put in a mental hospital, and promising to call my husband Mansur Mashurov from his work.

Today I must fly to Stockholm, Sweden, to participate in a human rights conference, and I believe that the Uzbek authorities are deliberately preventing me from leaving Uzbekistan.

I ask the organizers of the conference, representatives of the EU member states, representatives of the U.S. Embassy and international organizations to urgently intervene and protect me from the attacks of the government of Uzbekistan.”

Immediately after the letter of Yelena Urlayeva, Joanna Kurosz, Programme Director Eastern Europe and Central Asia at the Civil Rights Defenders, sent an official letter to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Uzbekistan, Bakhodir Matlyubov, calling to immediately end the persecution against the human rights activist in Tashkent.

“Civil Rights Defenders is seriously concerned about the harassment of human rights defender Elena Urlaeva, Human Rights Alliance of Uzbekistan, just before her departure to Stockholm, where she has been invited to participate in Civil Rights Defenders’ conference ”Defenders’ Days”. We urge you to make sure that Elena Urlaeva can travel to Stockholm and that the harassment of her is being stopped immediately.

According to our information, Elena Urlaeva’s neighbours and the head of the local police station verbally attacked her this morning. They accused her of ”hooliganism” and the policeman threatened to put her in a psychiatric hospital. Since Elena Urlaeva has previously been forcibly treated in a psychiatric hospital, in what appears to be a punishment for her human rights work, the threats caused great stress to her. The same situation occurred a couple of days ago, when Elena Urlaeva was supposed to pick up her visa at the German Embassy. At that time, the threats made Elena Urlaeva’s blood pressure increase to a level which made it impossible for her to pick up the visa the same day.

Taking into account the timing of the harassment, we have strong reasons to believe that it is connected to her departure and aimed at preventing her from taking part in Defenders’ Days. We therefore urge you to make sure that the harassment stops, that Elena Urlaeva can leave Tashkent without obstacles and that she can conduct her important human rights work without obstruction in the future,” – stated the a letter of the Civil Rights Defenders representative addressed to the Minister of Interior of Uzbekistan Bakhodir Matlyubov.

On April 2 “Jarayon” contacted the family of Yelena Urlayeva over the phone. They said that on April 1 leader of the Human Rights Alliance of Uzbekistan was able to fly to Sweden to participate in the international conference.

It should be noted that previously the Uzbek authorities put the rights activist Yelena Urlayeva to a psychiatric hospital for compulsory treatment. These acts of the Uzbek authorities are seen as an attempt to obstruct her activism.