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Uzbek court jails rights activist for eight years
07 Mar 2006 09:37:55 GMT
Source: Reuters
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TASHKENT, March 7 (Reuters) - An Uzbek court has sentenced a
human rights activist for eight years in prison for economic
crimes, U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday. Mukhtabar Tojibayeva, the ninth rights defender convicted in
Uzbekistan this year, has been a critic of President Islam
Karimov's handling of a bloody crackdown in the town of Andizhan
last year when witnesses saw troops opening fire on civilians. "Following the verdict and sentence ... Tojibayeva shouted
to the judge that, 'This is puppet theatre, and a tragedy'",
Human Rights Watch said in a statement posted on its Web site. "We view Tojibayeva's conviction as part of a pattern of
persecution against independent voices and critics within civil
society since the Andizhan massacre." Uzbekistan's courts could not be reached for comment. Human Rights Watch said Tojibayeva's charges were
non-political, such as misuse of land, slander and other charges
stemming from a dispute with an employee of the fish farm she
owns. Tojibayeva, who was arrested on Oct. 7, was also found
guilty of being a member of an unregistered organisation, it
said, adding that she was denied the opportunity to prepare an
adequate defence to the charges. "The trial that led to the sentence of Tojibayeva is so
unsound that her conviction cannot be allowed to stand. The
Uzbek authorities should release Tojibayeva immediately, pending
a review of the conviction," Human Rights Watch said. Since the Andizhan uprising, Uzbekistan has jailed more than
180 people accused of involvement in the riot and put pressure
on foreign-funded charities and the few independent media. On Monday, a court jailed Sanjar Umarov, the leader of a
moderate opposition group, for 11 years, also for economic
crimes. His supporters said it was a politically motivated case. Karimov, who says his opponents are "international
terrorists" and is backed by Russia and China, has denied any
ordinary members of the public were killed in Andizhan.
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