Azam Farmonov is an Uzbekistani rural development activist who spent 11 years in prison following conviction for extortion in 2006.[1] Amnesty International considered him a prisoner of conscience and in 2011 named him a "priority case".[2]
Azam Farmonov | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Uzbekistani |
| Occupation | rural development activist |
| Known for | 2006 imprisonment |
| Spouse | Ozoda Yakubova |
Farmonov has a wife, Ozoda Yakubova, and two children.[3] His father-in-law, Talib Yakubov, is the Vice President of the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan.[3]
On 29 April 2006, Farmonov was arrested along with fellow activist Alisher Karamatov and charged with extortion.[2] The two later reported torture by security forces, including partial suffocation with a disconnected gas mask and beatings on the legs and heels.[2] Human Rights Watch condemned the trial and stated that it "appear[ed] to be a politically motivated effort to stop their human rights work" in keeping with a recent pattern of suspicious charges against human rights workers.[4] Front Line also described the arrests as politically motivated and "part of an ongoing campaign against human rights defenders in Uzbekistan."[5] Amnesty International condemned the charges and called for the immediate release of Farmonov and Karamatov.[2] Uzbekistani government officials, however, denied that the extortion charges were politically motivated.[4]
Both men were convicted and sentenced to nine years in prison.[2] Farmonov was the first citizen activist to be sent to the notorious Jaslik "severe regime" prison camp[6] in violation of his sentence, which called for a "general regime" camp.[7] According to his wife, he was repeatedly placed in a "punishment cell," and on 8 January 2008, was stripped naked, handcuffed, and left in an unheated punishment cell for 23 days.[7] In April 2015 his prison term was extended by another five years after the authorities accused him of disobedience to prison rules.[1]
Farmonov was freed from Jaslik on 3 October 2017, two and a half years before the end of his extended prison sentence.[1][6]
References edit
- ^ a b c "Long Held Journalist and Human Rights Defender Freed From Prison in Uzbekistan - Civil Rights Defenders". Civil Rights Defenders. 2017-10-04. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
- ^ a b c d e "ALISHER KARAMATOV AND AZAM FARMONOV, PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE". Amnesty International. Archived from the original on 2011-04-29. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
- ^ a b Talib Yakubov (9 December 2009). "Blog: My son-in-law, the prisoner of conscience". Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
- ^ a b "Uzbekistan: Broader Criminal Charges Used to Quash Dissent". Human Rights Watch. 20 June 2006. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
- ^ "Uzbekistan - Ongoing detention and deterioration in health of human rights defender Alisher Karamatov". Front Line. 10 December 2008. Archived from the original on 4 March 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
- ^ a b "Узбекистан: Из заключения освобожден известный правозащитник Азам Фармонов, отсидевший 11 лет". Фергана - международное агентство новостей. 3 October 2017. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
- ^ a b "Imprisoned Human Rights Defenders in Uzbekistan". Human Rights Watch. 5 February 2010. Archived from the original on 27 March 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2011.