Uzbek Doctor Jailed for HIV/AIDS Work
Uzbek Doctor Jailed for HIV/AIDS Work
Media reports on February 24 said Maxim Popov, a 28-year-old psychologist in Tashkent, had been sentenced to seven years imprisonment and was already in the Navoi prison camp in northwest Uzbekistan.
RFE/RL radio’s Uzbek service reported that Popov was head of a non-government organisation called Izis which worked with drug users and sex workers to prevent HIV/AIDS, and ran a needle exchange programme for addicts.
The Fergana.ru news site said that with UNICEF support, Popov produced an illustrated book telling young people how to prevent sexually transmitted diseases, use condoms, and use disposable syringes in order to reduce the risk of infection.
This book formed the basis of the criminal case brought against the psychologist. The Tashkent city court found that it was “illegal”, alleging that it encouraged young people to use narcotics.
NBCentral Asia commentators say the court’s verdict makes no sense whatsoever.
A Tashkent resident said the authorities had taken to describing any activities or views they dislike as “at odds with the Uzbek mentality”. This “un-Uzbek” label is an easy way of targeting dissidents, and was used in the recent case against photographer Umida Ahmedova whose portrayal of Uzbek country life was deemed to defame the entire nation. (See Uzbek Photographer Convicted as “Warning to Others”.)
An NGO activist in Tashkent points out that HIV awareness campaigns similar to those run by Popov are common in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, traditions and “national mentality” are not dissimilar.
As the activists noted, no one gets prosecuted for this kind of activity in those countries, as “they understand that everyone needs to know how to prevent HIV”.
A sexual health doctor in a public hospital in Uzbekistan, who requested anonymity, cannot understand why the authorities chose to jail the author of a book that offers accurate information and sensible advice on HIV/AIDS prevention.
“It is absurd – they have convicted someone who wanted to help people,” said the doctor. “HIV/AIDS is now very common among young people in Uzbekistan, who are often ignorant about the condition and are not [taught] about it in school.”
Elena Urlaeva of the Human Rights Alliance of Uzbekistan says Popov’s trial and conviction were marked by gross violations of human rights.
First, the court case was conducted in secrecy, so that while the verdict was issued last autumn, it has only just become public knowledge. Second, the defendant was denied the right to appeal against the verdict.
“This man was speaking out about a problem and trying to grapple with it,” said Urlaeva. “The Uzbek authorities really don’t like that and try to force everyone to remain silent.”
(NBCA 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.)
