Dear friends,

I am excited that a 40-year anniversary of our organization ACAT Foundation is enlightened by this moment full of excitement, happiness and unforgettable emotions.

During our recent Board meeting we have decided to establish an award for the work in the field of human rights protection… but we were faced by a dilemma of coming up with a proper name for this award. On the eve of a 40-year anniversary of our organization we have been thinking about two Protestant women – Hélène Engel and Édith du Tertre who founded ACAT.  Without their efforts we couldn’t have been here today! (I am indeed happy to tell you that today several family members of Hélène Engel and Édith du Tertre are also attending this event). As a tribute to the courage and faith of those two women we decided to name the new award we were establishing Engel – du Tertre Award.

Our selection committee has thoroughly studied the lives and works of several potential candidates and reached a decision to give this award to Madam Tadjibayeva, an incredible lady, who is now staying right here next to me and whom I congratulate deep from my heart.

First, I would like to mention that Mutabar has never tolerated injustice which is why she has been consistently and effectively fighting against a repressive government and its human rights a buses in her hometown for twenty years.

Mutabar was born in Uzbekistan. She loves deeply her home country. Islam Karimov who is Uzbekistan’s leader has been a president of this country since 1991 after the Soviet Union fell apart has been in power for 25 years. He in fact established a repressive and brutal dictatorship. It should be mentioned that Uzbekistan is one of the countries in the world which ACAT keeps watching.

In 2000 Mutabar together with 4 women activists decided to found a human rights association named Fiery Hearts Club which soon will celebrate its 15 year anniversary. Created initially with the aim of exposing drugs related crimes Mutabar’s organization soon started fighting against inhuman treatment and torture of government agents against the Uzbek political opposition groups and religious minorities. Mutabar has assisted in release of many people, very often putting her own life under risks.

Consequencesofsuchactivitiescamefast. The Uzbek authorities have portrayed Mutabar as an enemy of state. She was arrested and sent to jail in 2005 (we should keep in mind that in 2005 the Uzbek government has also used firearms against peaceful demonstrators in Andijon town of Uzbekistan where several hundred peaceful citizens were killed). Mutabar spent 970 days in prison and was subjected to horrendous and continuous torture which still remind of itself even today.

During Mutabar’s days in prison ACAT kept fighting for her release. We have been very excited when finally she was released and visited our office.

It is not unusual for most torture victims to keep silence. But Mutabar didn’t stop her human rights activities. She was granted a refugee status in France and keeps on her human rights activities restlessly living in this country. She has boosted the activities of Fiery Hearts Club by launching new programs such as “Life Without Torture” – a group which unites and is operated by former torture victims and their family members, and Committee for Protection of Migrants” which monitors and protects rights of Central Asian migrants and asylum seekers in the territory of Russian Federation.

Mutabar’s work mobilizes the public opinion and influences it on the situation with repressions and torture in Uzbekistan.

Last Friday during an incognito visit and meeting of the Uzbek Minister of Foreign Affairs in Paris with his French colleague in the French Ministry Foreign Affairs – a fact exposed and publicized by ACAT – Mutabar addressed Loran Fabius, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs in her organization’s official letter in order to inform the French Minister on a critical situation with human rights in Uzbekistan.

Mutabar keeps fighting for release of many political prisoners in Uzbekistan, most of whom our organization also supports, for example Solijon Abdurakhmonov. On November 30 Solijon Abdurakhmonov will receive an international award and Mutabar is also invited to attend this event. She has suggested collecting signatures for Solijon Abdurakhmonov’s release from prison by sending out special postcards. It should be mentioned that we feel thrilled when we receive thank you letters from political prisoners who were supported by the ACAT team – it definitely means the results of our work.

We are thankful to Mutabar for her numerous actions for protection of human rights in Uzbekistan and internationally. We are proud of her!

We understand that she has been protecting human rights putting her own life under risk and suffered terrible torture in prison and is affected by post-torture trauma even today.

We feel happy that we are able to give this award to her. I am honored to hand Engel – du Tertre Award – 2014 to Mutabar. I would like to conclude by reading out a letter of Madam Katherine Blonde, Messers Philip and Francois Engel – children of Helene Engel addressed to Mutabar :

“Mutabar, thank you and bravo!”

François Walter

ACAT President