Akzam Turgunov released
On 7 October 2017, Akzam Turgunov was released from prison colony #UYA 64/49 in Karshi, Uzbekistan, one year ahead of schedule after having already served over nine years of his sentence on fabricated extortion charges.
Akzam Turgunov, before his detention, was the executive director and founder of “Mazlum” ("The Oppressed") Human Rights Centre, a human rights organisation in Tashkent advocating on behalf of prisoners of conscience and protesting against the use of torture. He also served as Director of the Tashkent section of Erk (“Freedom”), a political opposition party.
On 7 October 2017, Akzam Turgunov was released from prison colony #UYA 64/49 in Karshi, Uzbekistan, one year ahead of schedule after having already served over nine years of his sentence on fabricated extortion charges.
Akzam Turgunov, before his detention, was the executive director and founder of “Mazlum” ("The Oppressed") Human Rights Centre, a human rights organisation in Tashkent advocating on behalf of prisoners of conscience and protesting against the use of torture. He also served as Director of the Tashkent section of Erk (“Freedom”), a political opposition party.
On 7 October 2017, Akzam Turgunov was released one year ahead of schedule after having already served over nine years of his sentence. In 2008, he was sentenced to ten years incarceration on a fabricated extortion case. In July 2008, the human rights defender was investigating police corruption charges and working as a lay public defender when he was arrested on extortion charges in Nukus, Uzbekistan. On 23 October 2008, the Criminal Court of the city of Mangita in the Amudarya district of Karakalpakstan sentenced him to ten years in prison.
In detention, Akzam Turgunov was repeatedly subjected to torture and degrading treatment. He was held without access to a lawyer, and boiling water was poured over his back and neck during his interrogation.
On 17 November 2011, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded that the arrest and conviction of the human rights defender was illegal and in contravention of the norms of international law, and called for his release stating that “[t]he Government used [the] involvement of Mr Turgunov in the resolution of a settlement in civil matters to prosecute and punish him for his human rights and political activities”. It was also noted that the authorities had failed to adequately investigate the mistreatment of the human rights defender and called on the government to “release Mr Turgunov and accord him an enforceable right to compensation”.
Although Front Line Defenders welcomes the release of Akzam Turgunov, it remains concerned about the situation of other imprisoned human rights defenders in Uzbekistan and calls for their release.
