Professional Background
Journalist Yusif Ruzimuradov wrote extensively for Erk
("Freedom"), the newspaper of Uzbekistan's first official opposition
party, after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. After
the 1991 election brought Islam Karimov to power, Erk served
as the primary forum of written dissent against his government. While
President Karimov's policies aimed at limiting democratic development
and at silencing criticism by hounding journalists and their families,
Ruzimuradov continued to contribute regularly to Erk and to
support the Erk party. The refusal of Ruzimuradov and his fellow
journalists to be intimidated led Karimov finally to ban Erk and the Erk party in 1994.
Current Status
Recent developments have generated considerable fear for Ruzimuradov's
physical and psychological well-being. In a statement signed by
Ruzimuradov and five others associated with the Erk arrests, the
journalists allege that, during their pretrial detention, they had been
suffocated, beaten with rubber truncheons and plastic bottles filled
with water, and given electric shocks.
Following his
conviction, Ruzimuradov was transferred from Tashkent City Prison to
"strict-regime" Penal Colony 64/33, near the village of Shakhali in
southern Uzbekistan. While exact details of his physical state are
unknown, there are reports that Ruzimuradov's health is deteriorating
as a result of the appalling conditions at this prison camp.
PEN
considers Yusif Ruzimuradov to be detained solely for exercising his
right to free expression as guaranteed by Articles 19 and 22 of the
United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and is calling
for his immediate and unconditional release.
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Case History
Ruzimuradov, along with Muhammad Bekjanov
(also a PEN Honorary Member) and others, fled to the Ukraine following
the banning of Erk and the Erk party in 1994. Erk continued as an
underground opposition movement through the 1990s. In 1999, a series of
explosions in the Uzbek capital Tashkent was blamed on Erk, and
President Karimov ordered all members associated with the opposition to
be arrested. Ruzimuradov was arrested in Kiev on March 15, 1999, and
extradited to Uzbekistan. It is suspected that Ruzimuradov's arrest
resulted from his position as a former Erk journalist.
On
August 18 of the same year, at a trial in which much of the testimony
was extracted under torture, Ruzimuradov was convicted of "attempting
to overthrow the government by force," "membership of an illegal
organization," and "slander" of the Uzbek president. He was sentenced
to eight years in prison. According to a written statement released by
Reporters sans Frontières on January 18, 2003, violent threats were
made against members of his family, and torture and psychological
incentives were used to obtain his "confession."
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