Lawyer from Tashkent Ruhiddin Kamilov, who is defending the writer Yusuf, and his children, Bobur and Mashrab Juma, has been the victim of acts of intimidation.

He was reportedly told by the prison governor, Samad Shukurov, that he and Yusuf Juma were serving the interests of US imperialism. Samad Shukurov also personally threatened Ruhiddin Kamilov that he was to die soon.

Yusuf and Bobur Juma have reportedly been subject to physical abuse, in the form of beatings, and verbal abuse on a daily basis at the hands of prison authorities since their arrest in mid-December 2007.

On Feb. 20 Dr Vahid Karimov had been allowed to examine Yusuf Juma  in  the Bukhara Region police department’s Otbozor prison after the writer was cruelly tortured.

 Dr Vahid Karimov found Yusuf Juma to be suffering from heart and respiratory problems as well as having sustained injuries due to regular beatings, and said that his condition gave rise to concern.

Allowing a doctor to examine the writer, one of his sons said, could be the authorities’ reaction to information released by his lawyer Ruhiddin Kamilov after visiting him in prison.

Kamilov learnt about mistreatment and torture the writer regularly faced. The writer wrote in detail about torture he experienced in the Otbozor prison in a letter he gave his lawyer which was seized when the lawyer was leaving the prison.

Yusuf and Bobur Juma are also reportedly being denied access to food and the means to write letters, as well as prevented from meeting with their lawyer, Ruhiddin Kamilov.

Front Line believes that   Ruhiddin Kamilov the subject of acts of intimidation, as a result of Yusuf Juma's human rights activities, in particular his work to promote democracy and freedom of expression in Uzbekistan.

Yusuf Juma was arrested along with his son Bobur Juma on 22 December 2007 after staging a protest against the arrest of Mashrab Juma, who was reportedly detained on trumped-up charges, in the run-up to the re-election of President Islam Karimov, in an attempt to silence his father. In January 2008 Mashrab Juma was sentenced to three-year imprisonment under Article 104, Part 3 of the Uzbek Criminal Code “Deliberately inflicting serious injuries”. Yusuf and Bobur Juma have been charged under two articles of the Criminal Code with “insulting” and “resisting representatives of power”. Yusuf Juma has been openly critical of President Islam Karimov in his writings.

 Ruhiddin Kamilov, has been the victim of acts of intimidation. He was reportedly told by the prison governor, Samad Shukurov, that he and Yusuf Juma were serving the interests of US imperialism. Samad Shukurov also personally threatened Ruhiddin Kamilov that he was to die soon.

TAKE ACTION NOW ! .

ADRESSES: 

President Islam Karimov Office of the President 43 Uzbekistan Avenue, 700163 Tashkent Uzbekistan

LETTRE: 

Your Excellency,

I am deeply concerned following reports of the continued torture and ill-treatment of imprisoned human rights defender and writer Yusuf Juma and his sons Bobur and Mashrab Juma. Yusuf Juma is a prominent writer and pro-democracy activist in Uzbekistan. Yusuf, Bobur and Mashrab Juma were arrested in the Tashkent region in mid-December 2007 and are all detained in the Otbozor Prison in the Bukhara region of Uzbekistan. Yusuf and Bobur Juma's lawyer, Ruhiddin Kamilov, has been threatened by the prison governor.

Yusuf, Bobur and Mashrab Juma have reportedly been subject to physical abuse, in the form of beatings, and verbal abuse on a daily basis at the hands of prison authorities since their arrest in mid-December 2007. When Dr. Vahid Karimov from Bukhara's Medical Law Centre was recently allowed to examine Yusuf Juma he was reportedly ordered by the prison governor, Samad Shukurov, to revive him when he fainted due to continuous torture. Dr Vahid Karimov found Yusuf Juma to be suffering from heart and respiratory problems as well as having sustained injuries due to regular beatings, and said that his condition gave rise to concern. Yusuf and Bobur Juma are also reportedly being denied access to food and the means to write letters, as well as prevented from meeting with their lawyer, Ruhiddin Kamilov.

Yusuf Juma was arrested along with his son Bobur Juma on 22 December 2007 after staging a protest against the arrest of Mashrab Juma, who was reportedly detained on trumped-up charges, in the run-up to the re-election of President Islam Karimov, in an attempt to silence his father. In January 2008 Mashrab Juma was sentenced to three-year imprisonment. Yusuf and Bobur Juma have been charged under two articles of the Criminal Code with “insulting” and “resisting representatives of power”. Yusuf Juma has been openly critical of President Islam Karimov in his writings.

Yusuf and Bobur Juma's lawyer, Ruhiddin Kamilov, has been the victim of acts of intimidation. He was reportedly told by the prison governor, Samad Shukurov, that he and Yusuf Juma were serving the interests of US imperialism. Samad Shukurov also personally threatened Ruhiddin Kamilov that he was to die soon.

I believe that Yusuf, Bobur and Mashrab Juma have been arrested and charged, and Ruhiddin Kamilov the subject of acts of intimidation, as a result of Yusuf Juma's human rights activities, in particular his work to promote democracy and freedom of expression in Uzbekistan. I am deeply concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Yusuf, Bobur and Mashrab Juma while in prison.

I urge the authorities in Uzbekistan to: 1.Grant the immediate and unconditional release of Yusuf, Bobur and Mashrab Juma, as they are being detained solely on the basis of Yusuf Juma's legitimate non-violent human rights work; 2.Take measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Yusuf, Bobur and Mashrab Juma while in prison and ensure their freedom from ill-treatment and torture, as is their right under Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; 3.Grant Yusuf and Bobur Juma access to their lawyer, Ruhiddin Kamilov, and grant Yusuf, Bobur and Mashrab Juma access to adequate food, the means to write letters and, where necessary, medical treatment; 4.Initiate an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into the reported threat against lawyer Ruhiddin Kamilov, with a view to bringing those responsible to justice and allowing him to continue with his legitimate work; 5.Ensure that the treatment of Yusuf, Bobur and Mashrab Juma adheres to all those conditions set out in the ‘Basic Principles for Treatment of Prisoners, adopted by General Assembly resolution 45/111 of 14 December 1990’; 6.Take measures to ensure that all human rights defenders in Uzbekistan, including lawyers such as Ruhiddin Kamilov, carrying out their legitimate work in human rights, are able to operate free of restrictions and harassment.

Yours sincerely,