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The Aftermath of the May 13 Shootings

The Government’s Account of the Events

The government has characterized the Andijan events as an attempt by terrorists, motivated by an Islamist agenda and supported by foreigners, to seize power in Andijan.115 It has attributed all deaths to the gunmen and in public has not explicitly acknowledged any casualties inflicted by government forces.

The government rejects characterizing the gathering on Bobur Square as a “protest.” In his statement to the press on May 19, President Karimov said that after gunmen seized the weapons, the army barracks no. 34, and conducted the prison break, they gathered people at the hokimiat “and used them as human shields.”116 President Karimov also said that people were promised up to U.S. $3,000 to go Bobur Square.117

President Karimov said that he personally went to Andijan to set up headquarters, consulted with local leaders, and sought to establish contact with the gunmen. Minister of Internal Affairs, Zokirjon Almatov, then was tasked with negotiating with the gunmen.118  As Karimov said at the press conference, the negotiations continued for the whole day until 5:00 p.m. when the gunmen rejected the last government proposal that would allow them to leave the city. They left the hokimiat building after they realized that the military were surrounding them, he said. President Karimov said that after the gunmen left the hokimiat building, at about 7:40 p.m., government forces “pursued” them, and indicated that government forces fired only in response to gunfire from the gunmen.119

The government denies that military or internal affairs troops shot at fleeing protesters, and has attributed all deaths to the gunmen. Minister Almatov told diplomats and journalists visiting Andijan on May 18 that “the extremeists. . .forced their way through the ring of law enforcement bodies using women and children douched [sic] with gasoline as a cover. The terrorists shot down dozens of peaceful people, including three ambulance doctors going by.”120

The government has launched an investigation into “terrorism, attacking the constitutional order, murder, the organization of a criminal band, mass disturbances, the taking of hostages, and illegal possession of arms and explosive materials.”121 According to Xinhua news agency, the prosecutor’s office announced the arrest of fifty-two of ninety-eight people detained for the Andijan “riot.”122 To date, no government statement of which Human Rights Watch is aware has indicated that the criminal investigation will examine the government’s use of lethal force.

The Uzbek parliament has created an independent commission of inquiry into the Andijan events whose mandate includes “a thorough analysis of the actions of government and [law enforcement, security and military] structures, and a legal assessment.123

President Karimov has categorically rejected an international investigation, suggesting that it would be inconsistent with Uzbekistan’s sovereignty, that it would cause further upheaval, and would be biased.124

Unknown Fate of the Bodies

One of the enduring mysteries of the Andijan events is the fate of the bodies of those killed. After the authorities removed most of the bodies from the streets during the night of May 13, they delivered some of them to at least one official and several ad-hoc morgues. Some of the bodies were buried by the authorities in the following days rather than being handed over to the families for burial, probably because the morgues did not have the storage capacity for all of the bodies.

While some families managed to find the bodies of their relatives in the streets immediately after the killings or later in the local morgue, as of this writing it is unclear where most of the bodies were taken. Human Rights Watch was unable to verify persistent rumors about mass graves in various locations outside of the city, yet a large number of the bodies clearly did not end up in the local morgue. A law enforcement official who was among the team collecting the bodies told his relative that:

I was called in on May 14 and we were loading the bodies – from the square and the avenue [Cholpon Prospect]. I think there were about 500 bodies there. We first brought them in three URAL trucks to the morgue, but there was no space there, and the trucks had to leave. I was not with the group that drove [the bodies] away from the morgue, but colleagues said they were taken to Bogshamal [an area outside Andijan where there is a cemetery].125

Several other witnesses also mentioned a rumor that some bodies were buried near the Bogshamal cemetery.126 This and other suspected burial places were off limits for journalists and human rights workers. A journalist who tried to investigate the Andijan slaughter cited a Bogshamal cemetery caretaker saying that thirty-seven bodies had been buried by government workers in a nearby field. The journalist, who reportedly visited sixteen cemeteries in Andijan, said he had found only sixty-one graves of the people allegedly killed in the city during the May 13 events.127 

It is unclear whether any investigative activity preceded the removal of the bodies from Cholpon Prospect on May 14 and whether the necessary forensic and ballistic examinations, such as on-the-spot photographing, identification, or collecting of material evidence (clothes, bullet shells, etc.) have been undertaken. Aside from one person who mentioned that law enforcement officials were shooting video footage on Cholpon Prospect in the early morning, none of the three other witnesses whom Human Rights Watch interviewed who saw the crime scene the next day observed any of these measures taken. The fact that some of the bodies of militant-looking men were left in Cholpon Prospect and near the hokimiat building (see above) suggests that the government might have already started arranging the evidence at that point to corroborate its version of the events.

It does appear that a number of the bodies were photographed at some point to help with identification, as some relatives looking for the missing were given stacks of photographs of individual corpses to look through.128 It is unclear, however,  whether the authorities took steps such as compiling full lists of those killed, notifying relatives, or keeping track of identification documents found on corpses, all measures to facilitate people’s efforts to locate and identify dead relatives.

The way the bodies were removed from the streets and handled made it very difficult for families to find the bodies of their relatives and bury them. The family of twenty-five-year-old “Khassan Kh.” (not his real name), who was killed while trying to return home from the Old Market, where he worked, found his body in the morgue after several days of searching. His relative said:

We were looking for him everywhere around the city, and then we went to the morgue on Semashko street. Lots of bodies were piled up there, with their insides out. There were so many bodies there — we kept looking for a long time. We hardly found him —there was almost nothing left from his head, we recognized him by his clothes. There were soldiers and policemen in the morgue. They asked, ‘who was your son?’ We told them he was just a tradesman in the market and then they told [the morgue workers] to give the body to us.129

Almost two weeks after the events, some families were still looking for their relatives. “Orzibeka O.” (not her real name) told Human Rights Watch that she has not seen her fifteen-year old son since 5:30 p.m. on May 13 when he left with his friends to see what was happening in the city. She was waiting for him all night and went to look for him at dawn the next day. She said:

First I went to Sai [area]. Other people also came there to look for their relatives. I heard that about forty dead bodies were there. But I did not find him there. I also checked in all hospitals and morgues, but he was not there. When I looked through the lists in the morgue, I saw 390 names but I did not see my son’s name among them.130

The woman eventually came to Kyrgyzstan hoping that her son might have been among the refugees who fled across the border after the May 13 events. However, she did not find him in the camp.

Media reports also suggested that many families never found their relatives or their relatives’ bodies after the events.131

The morgue in Andijan remained practically off limits for any human rights workers or journalists. Several journalists said that their attempts to enter the morgue and receive official information from its staff proved futile, as they or their local colleagues helping them were prevented from entering the premises by plainclothes security officials.132

Andijan cemeteries, where some of the victims of the killings have been buried over the last weeks, are also being closely watched to prevent the spread of information about the dead. In one of the areas of Andijan visited by Human Rights Watch, local residents warned us not to go to the local cemetery where there were visibly fresh graves, because “there is an informant sitting near the gates watching for any strangers who come to the cemetery.”133  Passing by the cemetery gates, Human Rights Watch indeed saw a man matching the description provided by the residents.

The fate and the actual number of the wounded also remain unknown to date. Uzbek officials referred to 276 people who “sought medical attention” after the May 13 shooting in Andijan.134 The actual number, however, is likely to be much higher.

Several witnesses who were in Andijan hospitals on May 13 for different reasons said they saw “lots and lots” of wounded being brought there, but nobody knew the exact number.135

When a group of journalists decided to visit a local hospital on the morning of May 14 to seek information about the wounded, they saw that the hospital was surrounded by “the military and APCs.” A member of this group later told Human Rights Watch:

[The soldiers] pointed their guns at us and said, ‘Go away.’ While my colleagues tried to talk to the soldiers, I saw a doctor who stepped out of the hospital. He looked very tired. I asked him how many wounded [there were]. He said that ninety-six persons were brought during the night. I asked him, ‘how many killed?’ He said he could not tell. I asked, ‘twenty?’ He was silent. I went on, ‘thirty? fifty?’ He said, ‘more.’ I asked, ‘hundred?’ He said, ‘I don’t want to talk about it; lots and lots...’ He said most were civilians, and added that at night he was operating on a pregnant woman who was hit by a bullet while she was walking along a street.136

A worker from one of the hospitals told Human Rights Watch that when he came to work on May 14 he was not allowed in and was told to “go home and rest.” He said that when he got to the hospital on May 16, there were already no wounded there— the doctors told him that all of the wounded from various hospitals were moved to one hospital—he believed it was Regional Emergency Hospital (Oblastnaia Bolnitsa Skoroi Pomoschi). The hospital, he was told, was heavily guarded by SNB agents who watch everyone coming in.137

City Sealed Off

Prompt removal of the bodies from city streets was followed by a thorough cleaning and covering up of the traces at the sites where major shooting took place. Witnesses said the government used fire trucks and water cannons to wash the blood off the streets; buildings with the most bullet marks on the walls were quickly painted over and windows were replaced.138

At the same time, access to Andijan was essentially closed to obvious strangers, with numerous checkpoints established on all of the main roads leading to the city. Ten days after the events, the checkpoints were still in place, at every entrance to the city, and along the roads. While traveling to the city, a Human Rights Watch researcher went through six checkpoints on one of the roads in just one hour. Travelers to the city also undergo thorough searches and document checks.

 Nearly two weeks after the events, all over the city Human Rights Watch saw large groups of young men wearing blue camouflage uniforms and closely monitoring the streets. Local residents said that these were mostly students hired shortly after the shooting as “people’s militias” to monitor and prevent any suspicious activity in the streets.139

Intimidation of Witnesses

An essential part of the Uzbek authorities’ cover-up strategy was to ensure that numerous participants and witnesses to the May 13 events keep silent.

A prominent Andijan-based human rights defender, name withheld, and his colleague, “Bakhit B.,” (not his real name) told Human Rights Watch that on May 13 and the day after people were still willing to share what they saw or experienced, but several days later a large-scale state effort to silence the witnesses attained remarkable results. “Bakhit B.” said:

During the event, people were running to you to give an interview, and at present they run away and say ‘we just want to live in peace.’ They say ‘Karimov  and Alamatov  on TV said that they know everybody who gives information;  Alamatov said they know all telephone numbers of the people who gave details and information [to journalists] and they will deal with them.’140

Most witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch in Andijan clearly feared government retribution for speaking about the events. They insisted that Human Rights Watch not release their names or any details that may allow the authorities to identify them. A woman who was wounded and lost two family members on May 13 told Human Rights Watch:

I am so scared, I don’t want anything, I don’t want any justice. Don’t tell our names, don’t say you came to our house—just say you heard about what happened to us from other people.141


Many other people refused to talk even on condition of anonymity. Several people told Human Rights Watch that police had explicitly warned them not to talk to journalists or other “outsiders.” One person told Human Rights Watch:

Last night there was an [identification] check throughout the neighborhood. Several policemen were checking the documents in every house. They warned us, “If the journalists, correspondents come— you should not tell them anything, otherwise we will find you.”142

People from several different neighborhoods of Andijan told Human Rights Watch that “spies from mahalla committees” are watching closely for any strangers coming to the neighborhood and especially visiting the families whose relatives were killed during the May 13 shooting.143

Relatives of persons who have fled to Kyrgyzstan are also being pressured by the Uzbek security services.  Human Rights Watch met one elderly man who had come from Andijan to the Kyrgyz refugee camp to try to convince his relatives to return home.  He explained to his relatives that Uzbek security services were going house to house in the neighborhood, checking whether every person in each house was accounted for, confiscating the passports of missing people.  He had been pressured to come to Kyrgyzstan to urge his relatives to return to Andijan.  The relatives refused, and the elderly man unsuccessfully tried to convince the authorities to allow him to stay in the camp, because he was afraid he would face further problems with the Uzbek security services if he returned without his relatives.144

Preventing the Flow of Information

Immediately following the May 13 protest and killings, Uzbek authorities imposed a strict clampdown on media coverage of the events, effectively banning journalists from entering the city and taking harsh measures against those who tried to report openly on the events.

First, authorities made sure to deal with the journalists who happened to witness the killings in Andijan, confiscating materials they managed to gather and blatantly threatening them. One journalist who was closely following the May 13 events in Andijan and stayed in the city through the night with several of his colleagues, told Human Rights Watch:

[In the morning of May 14] we were brought to a police station where we spent about three hours. They told us it was unsafe for journalists in the city, and that there were lots of fighters in the streets. They wrote down the information from our passports.... Then three men in camouflage uniforms with no insignia searched us. They confiscated memory cards from a photo camera, a cheap digital camera, and tapes from tape-recorders... They requested that I show the photo files from my cell phone, asked me to produce my laptop computer, and took a CD.

Then they put us into a bus and brought us to the Elite hotel. As we were leaving the bus, a guy in civilian clothes approached one of my colleagues and said, “They are foreigners, and you are a local, you probably understand what may happen [to you]. You all have thirty minutes to leave the city; otherwise, we are not responsible for your safety.”

We discussed that with colleagues and decided that we should leave, because there may be a provocation against us, and we left Andijan.145

Journalists who tried to get to Andijan in the days following the killings encountered considerable obstacles.

A crew from the Russian television station REN-TV tried to get to Andijan on May 14, 2005. The journalists were first stopped and briefly detained in a village near the city of Namangan, and then again at one of the checkpoint at the entrance to Andijan. REN-TV correspondent Dmitri Iasminov told Human Rights Watch:

At the checkpoint they requested the tapes [the crew had filmed the checkpoint], and we had to delete the recording immediately. [The security officials] then told us that they were not allowed to take footage and should leave immediately. It was late, and we decided to spend the night in the Namangan hotel—there we were closely watched by the local criminal police who had breakfast with us and made sure we left the town.146 

The journalists returned to Tashkent the next day to acquire accreditation. Shortly afterwards, a press secretary of the Russian embassy in Tashkent told the crew that they should leave the country immediately because “Uzbek authorities were seriously displeased with them.” Realizing that they would not be allowed to work any further, the journalist left the next day.147

The British newspaper, The Independent, reported on May 16 that it “made two attempts to by-pass the checkpoints around the city” but its reporter “was briefly threatened with detention and then escorted to the nearby city of Namangan, under the guard of a man who identified himself as a police colonel.”148

Another foreign journalist, Associated Press’s Burt Herman, who managed to get into Andijan, wrote in one of his reports that he interviewed several families whose relatives were killed during the May 13 violence, but “details of those interviews were lost when officers confiscated the AP reporter's notebook after physically threatening him.”149

Radio Liberty’s Andrei Babitski told Human Rights Watch that he managed to get to Andijan without revealing that he was a journalist, and worked there for several days by not drawing any attention to himself. On May 18, however, he was approached by an official who requested his documents and then “recommended” that he leave Andijan. Babitski left the next day.150

While blocking journalists from entering Andijan and suppressing every effort to report on the events independently, Uzbek authorities responded to growing international concern by demonstrating that they have nothing to hide, and organized a tour for diplomats and journalists to Andijan on May 18.

About sixty diplomats and journalists, mostly representing official Russian media (TV Channels 1 and 2, ITAR-TASS, Rossiiskaia Gazeta, and the like) were taken to Andijan on a special plane from Tashkent and driven across Andijan in the course of approximately one hour, accompanied by heavily armed special forces troops. The participants were shown the major sites of “rebel” attacks—the prison and the hokimiat.

According to media reports, the only witness diplomats and journalists were allowed to talk to was the father of one of the killed policemen who spoke supportively of the actions of the government to fight off the terrorists.151 Uzbek TV channels aired this conversation many times thereafter. 

People later alleged that prior to the official visit, authorities explicitly prohibited people from showing up in the streets along the tour’s path or attempting to talk to the visitors.152

Western diplomats expressed disappointment about the visit to Andijan, complaining about the short term and limited nature of the visit. However, when they tried to emphasize the need for further visits and investigation, the Uzbek president unequivocally stated that the tour was “enough.”153  

Meanwhile, state-run Uzbek media incessantly disseminated the government version of events, putting the blame for the violence exclusively on the “terrorists and extremist elements,” persuading the public that the government response was necessary and adequate, accusing foreign media and international organizations of disseminating false information about the events, and warning citizens against participating in any mass protests, even as on-lookers, as it may result in “tragic consequences.”154

With foreign journalists denied access to Andijan and Uzbek media strictly censored, local stringers and Andijan-based human rights activists became the most important source of information for the outside world, especially in the first days after the events.

These journalists and human rights defenders, who witnesses the events and dared to speak publicly about them, faced serious consequences. Some had to flee the country shortly after their first reports were published, having received death threats.

One of the most outspoken human rights defenders, Saidjahon Zainabitdinov, whose description of the killings in Andijan was widely reported in the media, was arrested on May 21 and remains in custody to date.155  He is charged with slander, which is punishable by up to three years of imprisonment.

The Andijan province branch of the human rights group Ezgulik (Goodness) reported that on May 20, 2005, the authorities beat and harassed two Ezgulik members as they conducted independent research on the events in Andijan. Ulugbek Bakirov and Fazliddin Gafurov were on their way to interview witnesses of the Andijan demonstrations and relatives of those killed when they were stopped by three men in plainclothes who followed them in a car without a license plate.  According to Ezgulik, the men got out of the car and asked Bakirov and Gafurov where they were going. One of the men grabbed Bakirov and began hitting him. Gafurov intervened and was also beaten by the men, reportedly suffering a concussion and an injury to his left shoulder.156

On May 28, 2005, a group of six armed policemen broke into the house of Dilmurod Muhitdinov, head of the Markhamat district branch of Ezgulik and one of the public defenders of the twenty-three businessmen. Police seized human rights documents, the program and charter of the unregistered Birlik (Unity) opposition party and a computer belonging to Ezgulik. Musozhon Bobozhonov, Muhitdinov’s assistant, was treated in the same way by the police. That day the police team also visited Mukhammadqodir Otakhonov, an activist of the Uzbek branch of the International Human Rights Society, and detained him. All three activists remain in Asaka district internal affairs custody in Andijan province. All three are being charged under article 244-1 of the criminal code (“preparing or distributing materials that threaten public safety and order”).157



[115] In several public statements President Karimov blamed the violence on Islamic extremist and particularly Hizb ut-Tahrir (Party of Liberation, see below). In his press conference on May 14 President Karimov said that the unrest was led by “fanatic and extremist groups” who were trying to repeat in Uzbekistan the political upheaval that had taken place in Kyrgyzstan in March. “Their main intention was. . .to set up a branch of Utopian Muslim Caliphate.” Regarding the participation of foreigners, the president said that some of the gunmen and their weapons came from abroad. He also said “. . . Without help from outside, without foreign sponsors, they would not be able to commit such a crime. And without the funds they would not have been able to organize their action.” See, “Uzbek leader gives news conference on Andijon events - full version”, BBC Monitoring Central Asia, May 14, 2005.

[116] “Uzbekistani President Details Negotiations with Andijon Rebels—Full Version,” Tashkent, Uzbek Television First Channel in Uzbek, May 19, 2005.

[117] See, “Uzbek leader says no international probe into Andijon crisis,” BBC Monitoring Central Asia [online], May 25, 2005. President Karimov is quoted as saying, “There is money behind the lies. The investigation will show how people in Andijon were taken to the street with promises of $1,000 or  $3,000. Their photos will be shown on TV, they will be shown speaking on TV.”

[118] “Uzbekistani President Details Negotiations with Andijon Rebels—Full Version,” Tashkent, Uzbek Television First Channel in Uzbek, May 19, 2005.

[119] Ibid.

[120] “Foreign Diplomats and Journalists visit Andijan”, , May 19, 2005 [online] http://www.uzreport.com/e/index.cfm?searching=1 (retrieved June 3, 2005) .

[121] “General Prosecutor gives press conference,” The Times of Central Asia, [online], May 19, 2005.

[122] “Death Toll in Uzbekistan’s Andijan unrest rises to 173,” Xinhua News Agency, [online] May 28, 2005.

[123] “The Formation of an Independent Commission to Investigate the Events in Andijan,” Resolution of the Legislative Chamber of the Oili Majlis [parliament] of Uzbekistan, May 23, 2005. http://www.gov.uz/ru/content.scm?contentId=12831 [accessed June 2, 2005]  “The commission has been entrusted to conduct careful investigation of all circumstances of Andijan events, deep and all-round analysis of their development, revealing the reasons and conditions that led to tragic events on 13 May of this year, revealing basic relationships of causes and effects of these events, and also those forces which are behind these criminal acts those led to human casualties. The deputies have charged the commission to carry out the all-round analysis of actions of the government and the law enforcement agencies, to give them legal assessment, and also regularly inform the parliament and the public on the course of investigation, including through mass media.” www.gov.uz/en/content.scm?contentId=12881

[124] See, Uzbek leader says no international probe into Andijon crisis,” BBC Monitoring Central Asia [online], May 25, 2005. President Karimov is quoted as saying,: “Uzbekistan is a sovereign state, it has its own gates and dorrsteps . . .its own constitutional system, elected government and elected president. . . .How could a commission from outside come and . . .be compromised by them, and they would  . . .make another upheaval and draw their own conclusion and cry to the entire world. I can even say in advnce what their conclusions would be. The conclucsions would be no different from those in Chechnya and other couhtries. Their aim is to label us with what we have not done, and, after they do so, we would be responsible for it. . . .And as if we are a guilty country and, as a poor thing, beg them for forgiveness.” Uzbek

[125] Human Rights Watch interview with the relative, Andijan, May 23, 2005.

[126] Human Rights Watch interview with “Tursinbai T.”, Andijan, May 21. 2005.

[127] Burt Herman, “Questions Linger Over Bodies,” The Moscow Times, May 26, 2005.

[128] Human Rights Watch interview with “Saiora S.” (not her real name), Kyrgyzstan, May 26, 2005.

[129] Human Rights Watch interview with a relative of “Khassan Kh.”, Andijan, May 23, 2005.

[130] Human Rights Watch interview with “Orzibeka O”, Kyrgystan, May 22, 2005. “Orizbeka O.” said that the names were numbered. She did not know, however, whether the numbering system referred to the total number of dead from May 13, or whether it corresponded to some other time period.

[131] See e.g., David Holley and Sergei L. Loiko, “Lethal Clashes in Uzbekistan Sow Fear for the Fates of the Missing; Many are unaccounted for after last week's protest, which ended in bloodshed. A key Islamic dissident is reportedly arrested,” Los Angeles Times, May 20, 2005.

[132] Human Rights Watch telephone interview with Andrei Babitski, May 26, 2005. See also, Burt Herman, “Questions Linger Over Bodies,” The Moscow Times, May 26, 2005.

[133] Human Rights Watch interview, Andijan, May 23, 2005. The witness requested not to be indicated by any name.

[134] Sergei Ezhkov,  “Uzbekskie Prokurori Vstretilis s Pressoi” (Uzbek Procurators Met With Press),  Arena, May 27, 2005 [online], http://www.freeuz.org/news/?id1=471 (retrieved May 27, 2005).

[135] One of the witnesses was in the Andijan regional hospital with her daughter who got sick on May 13; another was a woman wounded on the night of May 13; the third was a person working in one of the hospitals. All three interviews were taken on May 21, 2005. 

[136] Human Rights Watch interview with  “Madamin M.” (not his real name),  May 30, 2005.

[137] Human Rights Watch interview with “Tursinbai T.”, Andijan, May 21. 2005.

[138] Human Rights Watch interview with “Tursinbai T.”, Andijan, May 21. 2005;

 Human Rights Watch interview with “Karim K.” (not his real name), Andijan, May 22, 2005.

[139] E.g., Human Rights Watch interview with “Karim K.”, Andijan, May 22, 2005.

[140] Human Rights Watch interview with “Bakhit B.”, Kyrgyzstan,  May 20, 2005.

[141] Human Rights Watch interview with “Farida F.” (not her real name), Andijan, May 23, 2005.

[142] Human Rights Watch interview, Andijan, May 23, 2005. The witness requested not to be indicated by any name.

[143] Human Rights Watch interview with “Bakhit B.”, Kyrgyzstan,  May 20, 2005; Human Rights Watch interview with “Tursunbau T.”Andijan, Uzbekistan,  May 21, 2005; and Human Rights Watch interview with “Farida F.”, Andijan, May 23, 2005.

[144] Human Rights Watch interview with “Muhamed M.” and his father, Kyrgyzstan, May 27, 2005.

[145] Human Rights Watch interview with “Bakhrom B.” (not his real name), May 29, 2005.

[146] Human Rights Watch telephone interview with REN-TV correspondent Dmitiri Iasminov, May 28, 2005.

[147] Ibid.

[148] Peter Boehm and Daniel Howden, “Slaughter in the Streets: Hundreds of Bodies Lie in Schoolyard as Regime Seeks to Blame ‘Islamist Rebels,’” The Independent, May 26, 2005.

[149] Burt Herman, “Questions Linger Over Bodies,” The Moscow Times, May 26, 2005.

[150] Human Rights Watch telephone interview with Andrei Babitski, May 26, 2005.

[151] “Uzbekistan carefully conceals traces of the uprising from foreign diplomats and reporters,” Pravda, May 19, 2005.

[152]Based on interviews conducted by a local rights defender, name withheld, Andijan, May 19, 2005.

[153] See e.g.,  “No Inquiry into Clashes: Uzbekistan,” TV World News Transcripts, May 20, 2005. 

[154] See e.g., Uzbek TV Channel One, news program in Russian language, May 24, 2005.

[155] For more information on Zainabitdinov’s detention see “Uzbekistan: Rights Defender in Andijan Arrested Crackdown on Activists Follows Demonstrations,” Human Rights Watch press release, May 24, 2005.

[156] “Human Rights Defenders  Beaten Up,” Ezgulik press release, May 20, 2005 [online], at www.ezgulik.org (retrieved June 2, 2005).

[157] “Aresty Pravozashitnikov v Andizhane Prodolzhaiutsia” (Arrests of human rights activists in Andijan are going on”), Ezgulik report, May 29, 2005 [online], http://www.ezgulik.org/news.php?id=197&status=1 (retrieved May 31, 2005).


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