Human Rights in Uzbekistan

Writer Mamadali Makhmudov was tortured and convicted in a Soviet-style show trial in August 1999. He remains in prison and is reportedly in extremely poor health. In 2001, Makhmudov was awarded the Hellman-Hammett award, given to writers who have been victims of political persecution, and was recipient of the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award. In a letter from prison, Makhmudov described his ordeal in police custody: "...in the basement, they regularly beat me...they burned my legs and arms. They put a [gas mask] on me and cut off the air...[and] hung me up by my hands, which they tied behind my back....They told me they were holding my wife and daughters and threatened to rape them in front of my eyes." © Human Rights Watch