Europe and Central Asia Summary of Amnesty International’s Concerns in the Region, January-June 2007 Harassment Defenders of Human Rights The case of Bakhtior Khamroev and his son Ikhtior: In August 2006, Bakhtior Khamroev, the head of the Dzhizzakh section of the independent non-registered Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan (HRSU), was attacked by a group of some 20 women, who reportedly burst into his apartment, accused him of being a traitor to his homeland and beat him up. At the time of the attack Bakhtior Khamroev was meeting with two representatives of the United Kingdom (UK) embassy. Police officers called to the apartment apparently only intervened to stop the women when Bakhtior Khamroev was hit over the head with a blunt object. Bakhtior Khamroev was reportedly refused medical assistance at the local hospital. A UK embassy spokesperson was quoted as saying that it looked like the attack was timed to coincide with the visit of the diplomats. Bakhtaran Khamroev’s 21-year-old son, Ikhtior, was detained at the beginning of August 2006 on a reportedly fabricated charge of hooliganism (Article 277, part two, of the criminal code). It was believed that he was detained as a result of his father’s human rights activities. On 25 September 2006, Ikhtior Khamroev was sentenced to three years in prison by Dzhizzakh City Court. He was transferred to a prison camp in the village of Chikurgan in Dzhizzakh Region. On 24 November 2006 an appeal against his sentence was turned down by Dzhizzakh Regional Court. At the end of December 2006 he reportedly complained about stomach problems and asked to see a doctor. According to the HRSU he received no medical treatment and the following day he was handcuffed by prison guards and illtreated, including by being kicked in the stomach. He was then transferred to a solitary confinement/ punishment cell, but when his stomach pains did not subside the prison director ordered him to be taken to the district hospital to be examined by a Amnesty International 149 doctor. He reportedly received no treatment at the hospital and was sent back to the prison camp. However, at the beginning of January, his condition deteriorated again and he was transferred to Dzhizzakh regional hospital, where he reportedly was diagnosed as suffering from a stomach ulcer. This diagnosis was reportedly changed to gastritis on the following day. A representative of the German embassy in Uzbekistan was able to visit him while he was in Dzhizzakh hospital. In May the Dzhizzakh Regional Court for Civil Cases rejected an appeal lodged by Bakhtior Khamroev against his son’s sentence. This was reportedly the 16th appeal which had been rejected by courts for criminal or civil cases of different instances and Ikhtior continued to remain in detention. However, according to his father Ikhtior’s treatment in prison had improved: he was no longer beaten or otherwise ill-treated, received medical treatment whenever required and was allowed regular visits by relatives. Members of the Human Rights Alliance of Uzbekistan: On 23 February 2007, Akrom Khodzha Mukhitdinov, a human rights activist and member of the Human Rights Alliance of Uzbekistan, was sentenced to 10 days’ administrative detention for organizing a small protest demonstration outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tashkent two days earlier. Akrom Khodzha Mukhitdinov and fellow activist Ibrogim al Hoshimi had arrived at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with posters calling for the resignation of Foreign Minister Vladimir Norov when plain clothes law enforcement officers approached them, threatened and insulted them and tore up their posters. Ibrogim al Hoshimi reported that three unknown women then appeared and assaulted the two human rights activists, beating them and shouting: "We want peace". Law enforcement officers detained the human rights activists and took them to the Mirabad District Department of Internal Affairs where they were charged with assaulting the three women. AI Index: EUR 01/010/2007