PUBLIC AI Index: EUR 62/002/2008

06 February 2008

Further Information on UA 138/05 (EUR 62/012/2005, 25 May 2005) and follow-up (EUR 62/001/2006, 13 February 2006) – Fear of torture or ill-treatment/Prisoner of conscience

UZBEKISTAN Saidzhakhon Zainabitdinov (m), human rights defender

Human rights defender Saidzhakhon Zainabitdinov was released on 4 February under a presidential amnesty.

He had been serving a seven-year sentence, handed down in January 2006 after what was in effect a secret trial, for "slander," "spreading information with the aim of causing panic" and other offences.

The chairperson of the independent human rights group Apelliatsia (Appeal), he had been monitoring protests in the eastern town of Andizhan which escalated on 12-13 May 2005. Troops allegedly fired indiscriminately into the crowd, killing and wounding many, mainly unarmed civilians. The government said that 170 people were killed, but unofficial sources, including Apelliatsia, estimated the death toll as at least 500. International media coverage cited Saidzhakhon Zainabitdinov’s account of the events, providing a stark contrast to the official account provided by the authorities

No further action is requested from the UA Network. Many thanks to all who sent appeals.