Calls for Release of Jailed Uzbek Poet
Calls for Release of Jailed Uzbek Poet
Human rights activists are hoping a concerted campaign aimed at the international community will help secure the release of dissident poet Yusuf Juma and other political prisoners held in Uzbekistan.
On June 17, eight human rights organisations based in Europe wrote a letter to Pierre Morel, the European Union Special Representative for Central Asia, requesting him to raise Juma’s case with the Uzbek government, and urging the EU to press for the release of other political prisoners.
Juma was arrested in December 2007, and given a five-year jail term on charges believed to have been fabricated after he organised a protest against President Islam Karimov running for election for a third term, in contravention of the constitution.
The poet and his family went into hiding after their house was surrounded and fired on by security forces, who then confiscated it along with their other property
Juma was later arrested and held in a succession of prisons, where he was routinely beaten and prevented from seeing his family or a lawyer.
According to the New York-based group Human Rights Watch, there are currently at least 11 political prisoners serving long sentences in Uzbekistan. They also include writer Mamadali Mahmudov, journalist Solijon Abdurahmonov, and human rights activist Azam Turghunov.
Mutabar Tajibaeva, a human rights activist who spent time in prison herself, says that “by jailing dissidents, and poets, writers and journalists. in particular, the government is trying to eradicate dissident activity for years to come.”
The EU has repeatedly raised the issue of political prisoners with Uzbek officials in an ongoing process that known as “dialogue”. It imposed sanctions on the country after the Andijan violence of May, 2005, when hundreds of demonstrators were shot down by Uzbek security forces. The sanctions were subsequently eased without the Uzbek government fulfilling commitments to improve the human rights situation.
Nadezhda Ataeva, who heads the Paris-based Central Asia Human Rights Association, says campaigners are addressing Morel directly as previous attempts to achieve progress on Juma’s case have been unsuccessful.
“Yusuf Juma is now in very poor shape,” she added.
The poet’s daughter Feruza Jumaeva says he is in need of medical assistance. When she last visited her father, she saw the marks of torture on his body.
Moscow-based human rights activist Elena Ryabina hopes the letter to Morel will contribute to securing Juma’s speedy release, and cites other cases where international pressure appears to have worked.
“Bearing in mind the cases of Uzbek human rights activists Mutabar Tajibaeva, Umida Niazova, and Gulbahor Turaeva, I would say the other political prisoners serving prison terms will be released very soon,” she said.
Abdujalil Boymatov, who heads the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan but is now living in France, is less optimistic.
“The letter from the human rights activists will help, but it doesn’t mean Karimov is going to release all political prisoners immediately,” he said. “The EU European Union will consistently seek the release of political prisoners, but only insofar as this does not damage its relationship with Uzbekistan.”
Signatories to the letter to Morel include Ataeva, Tajibaeva, Maria Karimova, who heads a group called Petition in Central Asia, and Souhayr Belhassen, head of the International Federation for Human Rights.
(NBCentralAsia is an IWPR-funded project to create a multilingual news analysis and comment service for Central Asia, drawing on the expertise of a broad range of political observers across the region. The project ran from August 2006 to September 2007, covering all five regional states. With new funding, the service has resumed, covering Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.)
On June 17, eight human rights organisations based in Europe wrote a letter to Pierre Morel, the European Union Special Representative for Central Asia, requesting him to raise Juma’s case with the Uzbek government, and urging the EU to press for the release of other political prisoners.
Juma was arrested in December 2007, and given a five-year jail term on charges believed to have been fabricated after he organised a protest against President Islam Karimov running for election for a third term, in contravention of the constitution.
The poet and his family went into hiding after their house was surrounded and fired on by security forces, who then confiscated it along with their other property
Juma was later arrested and held in a succession of prisons, where he was routinely beaten and prevented from seeing his family or a lawyer.
According to the New York-based group Human Rights Watch, there are currently at least 11 political prisoners serving long sentences in Uzbekistan. They also include writer Mamadali Mahmudov, journalist Solijon Abdurahmonov, and human rights activist Azam Turghunov.
Mutabar Tajibaeva, a human rights activist who spent time in prison herself, says that “by jailing dissidents, and poets, writers and journalists. in particular, the government is trying to eradicate dissident activity for years to come.”
The EU has repeatedly raised the issue of political prisoners with Uzbek officials in an ongoing process that known as “dialogue”. It imposed sanctions on the country after the Andijan violence of May, 2005, when hundreds of demonstrators were shot down by Uzbek security forces. The sanctions were subsequently eased without the Uzbek government fulfilling commitments to improve the human rights situation.
Nadezhda Ataeva, who heads the Paris-based Central Asia Human Rights Association, says campaigners are addressing Morel directly as previous attempts to achieve progress on Juma’s case have been unsuccessful.
“Yusuf Juma is now in very poor shape,” she added.
The poet’s daughter Feruza Jumaeva says he is in need of medical assistance. When she last visited her father, she saw the marks of torture on his body.
Moscow-based human rights activist Elena Ryabina hopes the letter to Morel will contribute to securing Juma’s speedy release, and cites other cases where international pressure appears to have worked.
“Bearing in mind the cases of Uzbek human rights activists Mutabar Tajibaeva, Umida Niazova, and Gulbahor Turaeva, I would say the other political prisoners serving prison terms will be released very soon,” she said.
Abdujalil Boymatov, who heads the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan but is now living in France, is less optimistic.
“The letter from the human rights activists will help, but it doesn’t mean Karimov is going to release all political prisoners immediately,” he said. “The EU European Union will consistently seek the release of political prisoners, but only insofar as this does not damage its relationship with Uzbekistan.”
Signatories to the letter to Morel include Ataeva, Tajibaeva, Maria Karimova, who heads a group called Petition in Central Asia, and Souhayr Belhassen, head of the International Federation for Human Rights.
(NBCentralAsia is an IWPR-funded project to create a multilingual news analysis and comment service for Central Asia, drawing on the expertise of a broad range of political observers across the region. The project ran from August 2006 to September 2007, covering all five regional states. With new funding, the service has resumed, covering Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.)
