Access to trial of Andijan activist draws criticism

Local rights groups in Uzbekistan have expressed concern over efforts to block observers from attending the trial of human rights activist, Mutabar Tojibaeva, head of the Burning Hearts NGO. The activist had been particularly vocal following the Andijan massacre of 13 May in which upwards of 1,000 people may have been killed when government troops fired on demonstrators protesting against the government of Uzbek President Islam Karimov. Police reportedly have sealed the town of Dustobod, about 60 km from the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, where the trial was to take place, erecting check points along roads to the town making it impossible for independent observers from entering. "The authorities are doing that to prevent people, including relatives, journalists and rights activists, from observing this trial," Tolib Yakubov, head of the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan (HRSU), said from Tashkent, on Tuesday. "Many law enforcement officials [on the ground] did not like her and her rights activist work because she is a very brave woman who worked hard against human rights abuses in Uzbekistan. Secondly, they were afraid of her because many people were supportive of her," Yakubov maintained. "She used to give interviews to international media, participate in international conferences [on Uzbekistan and rights situation in the country]. That's why the authorities want to isolate her from society. Also, it is related to her work after the Andijan events. The Andijan events were the culmination of pressure on her and other rights groups," Vasilia Inoyatova, head of the local Ezgulik human rights group, echoed. Their comments coincide with a statement by Human Rights Watch (HRW) the same day voicing similar concern. "Uzbek authorities are going further than ever to prevent observers from monitoring this trial," said Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia Director at HRW. "There is absolutely no reason why this trial, and the trials of political activists, should not be open." According to a statement by the group, an HRW representative and his translator were turned away from entering Dustobod at 10:00 on Monday after relaying their intention to attend Tojibaeva's trial. While he was waiting, the HRW representative saw police walk onto a bus and question people about whether they were from Fergana, Tojibaeva’s home province. At least one local human rights defender also reported that he had been prevented from entering the courthouse and observing Tojibaeva’s trial. The policemen said Makhmud Sirojitdinov, a Ministry of Interior colonel, gave them the command and told them the trial was closed. Later, the Ministry of Interior press service told HRW that Sirojitdinov's name did not exist in their records, the statement read. Tojibaeva faces 17 charges, including slander, extortion, swindling, tax evasion, polluting the environment, and violating rules on trade and land use, which stem from a dispute she had with an employee of a fish farm she owns. But according to HRW, there is genuine concern that the charges are a politically motivated effort to stop her human rights work. Tojibaeva, a vocal critic of the Uzbek government, was arrested on 7 October, the day before she was to leave for an international conference in Dublin.