WUNRN
Uzbekistan - The Observatory has been informed by
reliable sources about the judicial harassment faced by Ms. Umida Ahmedova, a women human rights defender,
photographer and film-maker from Uzbekistan.
______________________________________________________________
Attached is the CaucAsia Magazine of
July 2006, which includes a picture and article of Umida Ahmedova at
the Gender & Networks Conference. Umida showed her gender films, and
created a documentary at this Conference of CaucAsia, International Coalition
of Gender Journalists.
________________________________________________________________________
URGENT APPEAL
- THE OBSERVATORY
UZB 011 / 1209 /
OBS 197
Judicial harassment
Uzbekistan
December 22, 2009
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights
Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent
intervention in the following situation in Uzbekistan.
Brief description of the situation:
The Observatory has been informed
by reliable sources about the judicial harassment faced by Ms. Umida
Ahmedova, a women human rights defender, photographer
and film-maker from Uzbekistan.
According to the information
received, on December 16, 2009, Ms. Umida
Ahmedova was informed by the Mirobod Department of Internal Affairs that she
was facing charges of “slander”
and “insult” (respectively Articles 139 and 140 of the Uzbek Criminal Code) of
the Uzbek people. Those charges were brought by the Tashkent Prosecutor's Office, in relation to her
book of photographs entitled Women and Men: From
Dawn to Dusk, which was published in 2007 and contains
110 photographs reflecting the life and traditions of Uzbek people, as well as
to her documentary films Women and Men in Customs and Rituals and Virginity Code. She is
facing up to six months’ imprisonment or from two to three years of
“correctional work”.
These charges
follow an investigation carried out in November 2009 by the Uzbek Agency of Media and Information
into several books and films on gender issues that were produced in
collaboration with the Gender Programme of the Swiss Embassy in Tashkent.
The Observatory condemns the
proceedings faced by Ms. Umida Ahmedova, which seem to merely aim at
sanctioning her human rights activities.
The Observatory recalls that as a participating State
of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Uzbekistan
recognises “the need for particular attention, support and protection for human
rights defenders by the OSCE, its Institutions and field operations, as well as
by participating States”.
The Observatory further urges the
European Commission Delegation as well as European Union (EU) Member-States
embassies in the Uzbekistan to call upon the Uzbek authorities to comply with
the relevant international norms and standards, in particular the United Nations
Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, and take action on the above-mentioned
elements, in line with the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders.
Actions required:
Please write to the Uzbek authorities urging them to:
i.
Guarantee in all
circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Ms. Umida
Ahmedova;
ii.
Put an end to all
acts of harassment - including at the judicial level - against Ms. Umida
Ahmedova as well as
against all human rights defenders in Uzbekistan and ensure in all
circumstances that they be able to carry out their work without unjustified
hindrances;
iii.
Conform with the
provisions of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted
by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, especially
its Article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually and in
association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and
realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and
international levels” and its Article 12.2, which states that “the State shall
take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent
authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against
any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination,
pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her
legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”;
iv.
Ensure in all
circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance
with international human rights standards and international instruments
ratified by Uzbekistan.
Addresses :
· President of Uzbekistan, Mr. Islam Abduganiyevich Karimov, ul.
Uzbekistanskaya 43, Rezidentsia prezidenta, 700163 Tashkent, Republic of
Uzbekistan, E-mail: presidents_office@press-service.uz
· Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Vladimir Imamovich Norov, Respublika Uzbekistan; 700029 g. Tashkent; pl. Mustakillik, 5; Ministerstvo inostrannykh del RU,
S.S., Uzbekistan, Fax: + 998 71 139 15 17, E-Mail: info@tiv.uz
· Head of the Directorate of Execution of Sentences,
Ministry of Internal Affairs, Mr. Abdukarim Shodiev, Ferganskoe shosse, 25,
700005 g. Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan. Fax:
+998 71 1916835. Email: mvd@mvd,uz / info@mvd.uz
· Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms.
Sayora Rashidova, ul. Xalqlar Dostligi 1, 700035 Tashkent, Republic of
Uzbekistan, Fax: +998 71 139 85 55
· Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Mr. Buritosh Mustafaev, Respublika Uzbekistan; 700183 g. Tashkent; ul.
Abdulla Kodiri, 1; Verkhovny Sud Respubliki Uzbekistan, Fax: + 998 71 144-62-93
· General Prosecutor of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Mr.
Rashidjon Hamidovich Kodirov, ul. Gulyamova 66, 700047 Tashkent, Republic of
Uzbekistan, Fax: +998 71 133 39 17 / 133 73 68
· National Centre for Human Rights, Senator Akmal Saidov, Natsionalny
tsentr po pravam cheloveka, 5/3, Mustakillik Maidoni, g. 700029 Tashkent,
Republic of Uzbekistan. Fax: + 998 71 139 13 56 / 45 16
· Permanent Mission of the Republic of Uzbekistan to
the United Nations in Geneva, PO Box 1853, 1215 Geneva 15, Switzerland, Fax:
+4122 799 43 02, E-mail: uzbekistan@bluewin.ch
Please also write to the diplomatic representations of
Uzbekistan in your respective countries.
***
Geneva-Paris, December 22, 2009
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the
code of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated
to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete
support in their time of need.
The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human
Rights Prize of the French Republic.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
· Email
: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
· Tel
et fax OMCT : +41 22 809 49 39 / 41 22 809 49 29
· Tel et fax FIDH : + 33 1 43 55 55 05 / 33 1 43 55 18 80
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