International Human Rights Organizations “Fiery Hearts Club” and Committee on the Protection of Refugees

As it is known, on April 22-24 at the UN headquarters in Geneva Human Rights Council will discuss the human rights situation in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan for last four and a half years.

June 1, 2012, the UN Committee against Torture at its 48th session adopted a decision on the extradition of 29 persons to the Republic of Uzbekistan by authorities of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the General Prosecutor’s Office’s request. As is known, in its decision, the UN Committee against Torture has obliged the authorities of the Republic of Kazakhstan to secure the return of all 29 persons extradited from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan and pay compensation.

On April 12th of this year in mass media there was news that the International Committee of the Red Cross is stopping work in prisons of Uzbekistan.

About this the Director-General of ICRC Yves Daccord has reported in his blog on Twitter.

According to him, the management of committee came to such decision because of non constructive treatment of the Uzbek authorities.

Miguel de la Lama, the Secretary of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention informed Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan “Ezgulik” that the Working Group has prepared the case of two Uzbek human rights defenders Azam Farmonov and Alisher Karomatov for consideration during the 65th session of the organization. Their case, having 44 paragraphs, collected objections and conclusions which will be included in the annual report of the UN Human Rights Committee and reviewed as appropriate.

It turns out that a refugee from Uzbekistan Shuhrat Musin, who disappeared two months ago in the capital of Kyrgyzstan where he asked asylum from UNHCR, is being kept in prison of Andijan, Uzbekistan.

On April 12, one of the relatives of Shukhrat Musin told to “Jarayon” on the phone interview that the lost Uzbek refugee was detained in the city of Andijan.

– Shukhrat’s cousin, who lives in Andijan, was jailed for 15 days. Upon his release, he contacted Shuharat’s parents, who now live in exile in America, and told them that their son was being held in the basement of the same prison. Then Shuhrat’s parents told about it to his wife Barno and her older brother Islam. However, despite the news that Shukhrat is in Andijan prison, Barno wants to stay in Bishkek and continue searching for him, – said relative of Shukhrat Musin.

Law enforcement agencies in Karshi city tried to intimidate a lawyer of the Uzbek refugee Khairullo Tursunov, who was extradited from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan this spring. Meanwhile, Tursunov’s relatives complain about lack of money to pay the lawyer’s services.

“Jarayon”s sources in Uzbekistan reported that the refugee Khairullo Tursunov, extradited from Almaty to Tashkent in March this year, is now in prison located in Shaykhali village near the city of Karshi.

– Two or three days ago his relatives were able to pass him a peredacha (package of food and clothes to inmate – Jarayon). They hired a lawyer, who asked for copies of Khairullo’s passport from his sisters. He promised to deal with all the paperwork, talk with the investigator, and organize a meeting for them with their brother.

Call for Applications 2013

The George Washington University – Elliott School of International Affairs’ Central Asian Program (CAP) and Stockholm International Peace Research Institute North America (SIPRI North America) welcome applications for their Central Asia Fellowship Program.

The CAP-SIPRI North America Central Asia Fellowship Program is intended for young professionals—scholars, government officials, policy experts, human rights and democracy activists—who want to enhance their research and analytical skills and seek to become public policy leaders in their respective countries. More generally, the fellowship program seeks to provide a platform for the exchange of ideas and build lasting intellectual networks between the Central Asian and the US scholarly and policy communities.

The Uzbek authorities are using a proven method for achieving their ambitious plans to reconst Urgench. Since January, schoolchildren, and students spend half of their schooling day to cleaning rubbish, sweeping streets, digging up the ground and planting seedlings.

Last year the government allocated 112 billion sum (approx. 55 million US dollars – Jarayon) for creation of a new image of the regional center in Urgench. At the moment, the authorities are constructing administrative and residential buildings, and demolishing more than 400 buildings, garages and sheds, removing fences of private gardens and orchards in Urgench city.

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.