| Defenders In Custody |
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Active Defenders |
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| Nosim Isakov (b. 1967) was active with the Jizzakh city branch of the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan, and in the past few years has been working on corruption and on cases involving home evictions. He was arrested on October 27, 2005, and charged with hooliganism on the basis of a written complaint stating that he exposed himself publicly to his neighbor’s teenage daughter. Isakov’s supporters found the accusation particularly shocking and offensive because he is a pious Muslim. At his trial, which began December 15, Isakov did not confess and told the judge that while in pre-trial detention he had been beaten on his head with a bottle filled with water. He also gave a written complaint to his lawyer about these beatings and psychological pressure that he endured. On December 20, 2005, Isakov was sentenced to eight years in prison. He is currently being held at Karshi prison. |
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| DilmurodMukhiddinov (b. 1979) is an active member of the human rights organization Ezgulik and of the political party, Birlik. Police arrested Mukhiddinov in his home in Markhamat district, Andijan province on May 20, 2005, and accused him – and five others involved with the party– with distributing a Birlik statement condemning the Andijan massacre. Five of the original group of six were tried by the Tashkent Province Court and received suspended sentences on January 12, 2006. Mukhiddinov was sent to prison for five years. |
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| Rasul Khudainasarov (b. 1956) is the head of the Angren branch of the human rights organization Ezgulik and has focused his work on fighting corruption in the police and security forces. He was arrested on July 21, 2005. On January 12, 2006 he was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison on charges of extortion, swindling, abuse of power, and falsification of documents. Khudainasarov wrote a letter to his lawyer complaining about beatings and ill-treatment he was subjected to the day after his trial ended. According to the letter, Khudainasarov was also put in a punishment cell on January 13, one day after the verdict was issued, in retribution for not confessing during the trial. |
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| Bobomurod Mavlanov (b. 1946), from Nurobod district, Samarkand province, is a member of the Independent Human Rights Organization of Uzbekistan and of Erk. He was arrested on October 6, 2005 and charged with abuse of authority and bribe-taking. Mavlanov ran a private after-school educational center in the town of Nurobod. In late June 2005, two teachers at his center, wrote complaints to the prosecutor’s office accusing Mavlanov of taking bribes in exchange for their jobs. Later, both teachers rescinded their statements. They wrote letters to the director of the Samarkand National Security Service, stating that the head of the Nurobod district National Security Service pressured them into accusing Mavlanov of bribe-taking. In November 2005, a court sentenced Mavlanov to five and a half years in prison. |
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| Ulugbek Kattabekov is a human rights defender from Jizzakh province and chair of the Zamin district branch of Ezgulik. He is also a member of the political party Birlik. In spring 2005 he publicly addressed the problem of the Zamin district’s water supply. According to Kattebekov’s research, the local water supply problem was the result of the lack of several kilometers of water pipes that had been sold off by the local authorities. In June 2005 Kattabekov was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for extortion. His trial seemed to be politically motivated and aimed at stopping him from conducting any further work. |
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