A Voice for the Voiceless

Uzbek Journalist Jailed for Over 12 Years


By Alishba I. Kassim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan – Independent journalist, Dilmurod Saidov, was sentenced to 12 ½ years in prison following what many call a “flawed” trial.

The trial was brought on by politically motivated charges according to Human Rights Watch, and was riddled with “procedural violations.” Several witnesses withdrew their testimony claiming to have given false evidence earlier. Saidov was arrested on February 11 at his home in Tashkent and accused of extortion by Asliddin Urinboev, head of the Agricultural Equipment and Tractor Park. Urinboev alleged that Saidov had sought to extort $15,000.00 from him with the help of another individual, Marguba Juraeva. After both their arrests, Juraeva gave written testimony implicating Saidov, but rescinding her testimony the following day saying she was under the influence when she had given it.

Saidov was convicted of extortion and forgery in a closed session at the Tailak District Court. Neither Saidov’s lawyer nor his public defender were informed of the trial date in advance. The court secretary said the sentencing was closed “in the interest of security” and did not comment further.

Local human rights agencies on ground in Uzbekistan believe that Saidov was prosecuted and convicted because of his efforts to expose local officials’ abuse of power and corruption. Uzbekistan has a history of jailing reporters and human rights activists according to Human Rights Watch. “Dilmurod Saidov is well known for his courageous work to expose rampant corruption in Uzbekistan and this conviction is clearly an attempt to stop him,” said Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The trial was a travesty of justice, and Saidov should be freed immediately.”

The investigation and trial were plagued with inconsistencies and violations according to Human Rights Watch. Court hearings were repeatedly conducted without prior notice to Saidov’s attorneys. Other witnesses who spoke out against Saidov claimed they had been detained for two days in pretrial detention and pressured into making allegations against Saidov.

Saidov is amongst 13 other human rights defenders and journalists currently being detained in Uzbekistan pending trial. Several other civic activists and independent journalists are serving sentences on what many groups call “politically motivated charges.”

 

For more information, please see:

Ferghana – Free-Lance Journalist Saidov Jailed to 12.5 Years – August 3, 2009  

Human Rights Watch – Free Journalist Sentenced to Over 12 Years – Augu  st 3, 2009

Nasdaq – Uzbek Journalist Jailed for 12 Years – August 3, 2009

Woman Dares Court Over Flogging for Wearing Trousers

By Kylie M Tsudama
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KHARTOUM, Sudan – On July 3, police arrested Lubna Al Hussein and eighteen other women.  Their charge: dressing indecently in public.

According to the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information there is only one punishment under Sudanese law for an indecent clothing charge – 40 lashes in public.

Hussein is a journalist who worked for the media department of the UN mission in Sudan until recently.  At the time of arrest, she was wearing trousers, a blouse, and a hijab (headscarf).  The police say her trousers were too tight and that her blouse (Source: Sudan Tribune) was too transparent.

Her trial is set to begin on Tuesday.

“They ought to stop it,” said Nabil Adib, lawyer for Hussein. “It is quite unnecessary and degrading. It is harassment.”

Adib believes the charges will be dropped saying, “These things have their ups and downs.  These laws have generally relaxed as a matter of policy. But they are still sometimes enforced.”

Although some believe that the Sudanese government’s threat of flogging is a form of retaliation for Hussein’s criticism of the Sudanese regime, Adib does not believe that his client was targeted.

“There are round-ups that they do and it is indiscriminate,” he said. “I don’t think she was targeted specifically. They attack public and private parties and groups. They are called ‘morality police’ and she was just a victim of a round-up.”

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called flogging “against the international human rights standards.”  He said he would protect his staff member with every effort but her lawyer says she resigned from her position with the UN to avoid the immunity she would have received.

Hussein will maintain her position of no wrongdoing.

For more information, please see:

The Age – Sudanese Woman to Dare Court Over Flogging – 03 August 2009

ABC News – Pants-wearing Woman Not Afraid of Flogging – 01 August 2009

Sudan Tribune – UN Ban Ki-Moon Says Deeply Concerned by Sudan Trousers Trial – 01 August 2009

Telegraph – ‘Whip Me if You Dare’ Says Lubna Hussein, Sudan’s Defiant Trouser Woman – 01 August 2009

CNN – Sudanese Lawyer Calls Woman’s Flogging Punishment ‘Degrading’ – 30 July 2009

French Polynesian President Seeks France’s Help to Attend Leader’s Retreat

By Hayley J. Campbell
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Oceania

PAPEETE, French Polynesia – French Polynesian president, Oscar Temaru, is appealing to French leaders to support his bid to join the leader’s retreat for the Pacific Islands Forum this week in Cairns.
Mr. Temaru says that it is important he attend the leader’s retreat and not be excluded from participation.

Radio New Zealand International reported, “The leaders’ retreat offers an opportunity for private discussions once the formal summit is concluded. Mr Temaru says although French Polynesia has only become an associate Forum member, it’s not normal that he is excluded from the retreat. He says the French President’s Office has now written to the Forum secretariat in Suva. This comes after his earlier letter, soliciting Forum support for Tahiti’s decolonisation, went unanswered.”

Mr. Temaru said he was interesting in gaining French support after he spent a month in Paris for medical care.

The Pacific Forum is a union of Pacific Leaders from 16 countries. Members meet to discuss regional economic and political issues affecting the region.

For more information, please see:Radio New Zealand International – French Polynesian President Wants Help from Paris to be Allowed into Forum Leader’s Retreat – 02 August 2009

Protest in Malaysia Against Detention Without Trial

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia– Thousands of Malaysians protested in the country’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, against a controversial and archaic law enacted during the British colonial era called the Internal Security Act, which allows indefinite detention without trial.

Malaysia protest security law Police using water cannon against protesters (Source: Reuters)

5,000 police, using tear gas and water cannons, clashed with 15,000 protesters.  This protest, which was unauthorized by the government, led to more than 200 arrests, and many protesters ran to local shops and alleys in order to avoid being arrested.  In Malaysia, meetings of more than four people require permits, and the police have previously used tear gas and chemical-laced water against demonstrators.  The Malaysian government and the police had warned that they would not allow this protest as allowing such a rally would undermine public peace.

The protest was backed by Malaysia’s biggest opposition party, and the protesters had originally planned to march peacefully to the national palace and submit a petition to the king denouncing the Internal Security Law.  Opposition activists have long claimed that this law is sometimes used to imprison government critics or to dampen dissent.  Malaysia’s prime minster had promised to consider amending the Internal Security Act, but other government officials have repeatedly stated that the Act is necessary for national security.  Nazri Aziz, Cabinet Minister responsible for legal affairs, said, “The [Internal Security Act] will not be abolished.”

Malaysia protest security law2 Police and protesters in Kuala Lumpur (Source: AP)

Regarding the police blockade and the government’s refusal to allow the protest, the opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, said, “The police are really brutal.  This clearly shows [the government’s] intolerance to any dissent…We gather here today to fight a cruel law.”

Human rights groups have estimated that at least 17 people are being held under the Internal Security Act, mainly for links to militants or document forgery. 

For more information, please see:

AP – Malaysian police tear gas, scuffle with protesters – 1 August 2009

BBC – Protest at Malaysia security law – 1 August 2009

Philstar – Malaysia activists protest detention without trial – 31 July 2009

.S. Reviews the Need for Continued Sudan Sanctions

By Jennifer M. Haralambides
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States is reviewing its stance on Sudan sanctions after U.S. envoy, General Scott Gration told law makers that there is no evidence to support keeping Sudan on a list of countries that sponsor terrorism.

The U.S. is reviewing how best to deal with the Sudanese government and the crisis in the nations Darfur region, where roughly 300,000 people were killed and over 2 million were forced into refuge.  As of now, no formal decision has been made on whether to remove Sudan from a list of terrorism-sponsoring countries.

“We have made no decision to lift the listing on the terrorist list of Sudan. As you know, there is a very intensive review going on within the administration concerning our policy toward Sudan, but no decisions have been made,” said Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State.

At a Senate hearing Gration called the terrorism designation “a political decision” and said it is hindering his work.  He believes that lifting the sanctions, which include restrictions on aid, would allow for heavy equipment and for other assistance to flow more easily to the people of Sudan who are still desperately in need.

Committee Chair, Senator John Kerry, appeared to support Gration’s thoughts on Sudan saying that after a visit to Khartoum last April he “came away convinced that we need to build a strategic framework that moves beyond simple oppositions…”

P.J. Crowley, a State Department spokesperson, said there is no split on whether the U.S. is shifting gears towards Sudan, and that although Sudan has improved its counter-terrorism cooperation, the country is on the “list” and will “remain on the list.”

“There’s a set process in law – and where we have been with Sudan, where we are with Sudan, where we want to go with Sudan is all incorporated into this review. And it is ongoing, and we expect this review to be completed.  At that point, I think the President and the Secretary will lay out where we’re going to go with Sudan going forward,” Crowley said.

Although the envoy’s remarks are a persuasive signal that the U.S. is considering a change of heart, the decision would not go without protest.  Advocacy groups and American Christian groups blame the North Sudanese government for the devastating violence and genocide in Darfur.

For more information, please see:

NPR – Does Envoy’s Approach Hint at U.S. Shift on Sudan? – 1 August 2009

Sudan Tribune – Clinton Says Sudan Policy Still Under Review – 1 August 2009

AP – Sudan Pleased With US Envoy’s Remarks on Terrorism – 31 July 2009

CNN Politics – Administration Denies Split on Sudan Policy – 31 July 2009

Reuters – Clinton Says No Decision to Ease Sudan Sanctions – 31 July 2009