Uzbekistan: Forced psychiatric internment of Mrs. Elena Urlaeva

Case UZB 290805.1

Follow-up to Case UZB 290805
Forced psychiatric internment

Geneva. 1st September 2005

The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Uzbekistan.

New Information

The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Legal Aid Society (LAS), a member of the OMCT network, that Mrs. Elena Urlaeva, arrested in Tashkent on 28th August 2005, is currently detained in a psychiatric clinic. Her lawyer, Viatly Krasilovsky, has not been able to see her and reported that a doctor of the department where Mrs. Urlaeva has been placed stated that she is on compulsory treatment according to a court decision.

OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Mrs. Elena Urlaeva.

Brief reminder of the situation

The International Secretariat of OMCT was informed by the Legal Aid Society (LAS), a member of the OMCT network, of the arrest and ill-treatment of Elena Urlaeva, member of the opposition party, “Ozod Dehkonlar”, in Tashkent on 28th August 2005, for disseminating leaflets containing cartoons of the state emblem of Uzbekistan.

According to information received, Mrs. Urlaeva has undergone continuous interrogation and has not been given any food or water. She has also not had any access to her lawyer. She was reportedly being forced to sign a document in which she admits that she tried to overthrow the political system of Uzbekistan.

Action requested

Please write to the authorities in Uzbekistan urging them to:

i. Take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mrs. Elena Urlaeva;
ii. Order her immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges, and if such charges exist, to ensure that she is given a prompt and fair trial, in which her procedural rights are guaranteed at all times, including access to her lawyer;
iii. Order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these events, notably the allegations of ill-treatment, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iv. Guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with international human rights standards.

Addresses

• President of Uzbekistan, Islam Abduganiyevich Karimov, ul. Uzbekistanskaya 43, Rezidentsia prezidenta, 700163 Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan, Fax: +998 71 133 7258, E-mail: presidents_office@press-service.uz
  
• Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights, Sayora Rashidova, ul. Xalqlar Dostligi 1, 700035 Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan, Fax: +998 71 139 85 55, E-mail: office@ombudsman.gov.uz
  
• Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Ubaydulla Mingbaev, Respublika Uzbekistan; 700183 g. Tashkent; ul. Abdulla Kodiri, 1; Verkhovny Sud Respubliki Uzbekistan
  
• General Prosecutor of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Rashidjon Hamidovich Kodirov, ul. Gulyamova 66, 700047 Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan, Fax: +998 71 133 39 17, E-mail: prokuratura@lawyer.com
  
• Ambassador of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 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 embassies of Uzbekistan in your respective country.

Geneva, 1st September 2005

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.