URGENT ACTION

Health condition of POC deteriorating

Norboi Kholzhigitov, a 60-year-old male human rights activist, is critically-ill in an Uzbekistan prison. Whilst in detention he has not been receiving the treatment he needs for a range of serious medical problems. He is a Prisoner of Conscience and his health has been continuously deteriorating since being imprisoned. There are now fears that if he is not treated he will die.

Norboi Kholzhigotov’s wife has reported that her husband, who suffers from diabetes, is in a serious, life-threatening condition: his blood pressure is high, his right arm and leg are almost paralyzed; his fellow inmates have to carry him when he needs to move about; he has lost 31 of his 32 teeth and is unable to chew his food and has lost 40 kg. When Norboi Kholzhigitov tried to complain about his treatment he claims he was beaten and threatened with being confined to a psychiatric hospital. Norboi Kholzhigitov’s wife visited him in prison on 23 July and saw that his health continued to deteriorate. He looked very weak and pale, he was hardly able to move his right arm and his right leg and the skin on both had turned black. During August his physical condition continued to weaken and his family and colleagues now fear his life is at risk.

In 2005, Norboi Kholzhigitov, who had been defending the rights of farmers in his village in the Samarkand Regionof Uzbekistan, was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment. The charges he faced were believed to have been fabricated in order to punish him for his human rights activities. He was found guilty of committing “libel”,“anti-state”offences and “fraud”. He was sent to a Penal Colony in Karshi, a city in the south of Uzbekistan. His wife and colleagues have stated that Norboi Kholzhigitov's health has severely deteriorated during the years that he has spent in prison due to a lack of adequate medication, appropriate and effective medical treatment and poor prison conditions.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Uzbek,Russian or your own language:

• Urging the authorities to immediately provide Norboi Kholzhigitov with appropriate and effective medical treatment;

• calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Norboi Kholzhigitov as he is a prisoner of conscience.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 21 OCTOBER TO: