Rights groups continue condemnation of Mukhadirova verdict

Human rights groups continue to criticise an Uzbek court ruling sentencing Fatima Mukhadirova, the mother of a torture victim, to six years in prison for alleged extremist activities. The activists have called on Washington and others to take a more active stand on what they describe as one of the worst human rights records in Central Asia. "Not just the United States but all of Uzbekistan's bilateral partners should express their concern about cases like that of Fatima Mukhadirova," Dr Aaron Rhodes, executive director of the Vienna-based International Helsinki Federation (IHF) told IRIN on Thursday. "Having Uzbekistan as a partner in the anti-terrorist campaign cannot be an excuse to be silent or quiet about these horrific abuses of human rights." Echoing that sentiment, Urmi Shah, a spokeswoman for Human Rights Watch (HRW), said from London that Central Asia's most populous nation could not be a good ally of Washington's if it continued to persecute Muslims for the peaceful expression of their faith. "The United States must make it absolutely clear to the Uzbek government that this kind of prosecution is completely unacceptable," she told IRIN. Their reproach comes a week after Mukhadirova, the 63-year-old mother of Muzafar Avazov, was sentenced in a closed hearing to six years in a hard-labour prison by a Tashkent court for "possession of unsanctioned religious literature, membership of a prohibited religious organisation, and attempted encroachment on the constitutional order." Avazov, a 35-year-old religious prisoner, died during his incarceration in an Uzbek prison in August 2002. But, according to HRW, his body showed multiple bruises and signs of torture at the hands of his interrogators, including his fingernails being removed. More horrific, however, were burns over 60 percent of his body - injuries that experts maintain could only be possible by immersing the father of four in boiling water. In a letter to Uzbek President Islam Karimov on Wednesday, Scott Horton, president of the International League for Human Rights, said the trial, conviction and sentencing of his mother was a miscarriage of justice and the abuse of the criminal justice process to punish an individual who sought to expose human rights abuses involving her own son. But it is the complacency of those in the international community that has proved particularly difficult to digest. "This action should be condemned outright," Shah maintained, calling on not just Washington, but the United Nations and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to take a more active stand. Describing the case as "tragic" - but hardly atypical - she noted that hundreds of families had been affected by the government's campaign to punish independent religious activity, adding that, as far as the authorities were concerned, you were considered a militant, regardless of whether you were one or not. "There is no proof - they are just cracking down," she said. As for a way forward, Rhodes called for more assistance and support for civil society groups in Uzbekistan; help for victims and their families; and increased dialogue with government leaders and others about basic political values. "A variety of efforts must be made to bring Uzbek policies and practices into conformity with international standards," the leading activist maintained. Thousands of Uzbek citizens were imprisoned for no other reason than their affiliation with independent Islamic communities and other religious groups, he said, adding many of them were tortured and mistreated in custody, with some even dying. "The persecution of Muslims in Uzbekistan is a security threat since it gives credence to Islamists' radicalism," he warned. Meanwhile, Horton placed responsibility clearly at the feet of the Uzbek president himself. "As President, you have the power to pardon individuals who have been wrongly convicted of crimes and commute sentences imposed," he said. "Moreover, you should immediately take steps to ascertain the identity of individuals engaged in the torture and murder of Muzafar Avazov and open a criminal inquiry into the matter."