HRF submits petition to UNWGAD for Karakalpak activist Dauletmurat Tazhimuratov

NEW YORK (July 25, 2024) — Last week, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) submitted a petition to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) on behalf of Dauletmurat Tazhimuratov, a lawyer, journalist, and human rights defender in the Karakalpak autonomous region of Uzbekistan. He was arrested, beaten, and detained in July 2022 for voicing his opposition to proposed constitutional amendments that would strip Karakalpakstan of its autonomous status.

On July 1, 2022, Tazhimuratov gave a speech in front of a mosque in Nukus, the capital of Karakalpakstan, stating his opposition to constitutional amendments that would grant the Uzbek regime further control over the Karakalpak region. He was arrested and abused by officials before being released later that day.

Three days later, mass protests against the amendments erupted across Karakalpakstan. In response, the Uzbek regime arrested more than 20 participants, including Tazhimuratov, who was abused before being transferred via helicopter to a detention center in Urgench, a city outside of Karakalpakstan.

“Upon his arrest, officials failed to present Mr. Tazhimuratov with a warrant and reportedly placed a bag over his head as they beat and incapacitated him with a stun gun,” Kaitie Holland, an international legal associate at HRF, said. “He was reportedly forced to lay on the floor of a helicopter as he was transferred to Urgench with other detainees. The lack of basic due process in his case exemplifies the arbitrary nature of his detention and the corruption of the Uzbek regime.”

Tazhimuratov was then placed in pretrial detention following a hasty hearing before Judge Maulenov in Urgench. He remained in pretrial detention until his conviction and sentencing on Jan. 31, 2023, by the Bukhara Regional Criminal Court. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison for conspiring to overthrow the government, inciting mass riots, and threatening national security, among other charges.

In its petition, HRF criticized the laws under which Tazhimuratov was convicted, including Articles 159, 244, and 244-1 of the Uzbekistan Criminal Code, all of which have been identified as overly broad tools used to limit fundamental freedoms by the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief and the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism.

“Mr. Tazhimuratov is being detained for exercising his fundamental rights to the freedoms of expression and assembly,” Holland said. “His lengthy sentence is based on vague laws in Uzbekistan which essentially criminalize opposition to the regime.”

HRF’s petition calls on the UNWGAD to investigate Tazhimuratov’s case and determine that his detention is arbitrary and violates international law. HRF has requested the UNWGAD order Uzbekistan to immediately release Tazhimuratov from custody and ensure he is not subject to any further ill-treatment.

Supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation.

The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies. 

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