Akzam Turgunov
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.
Human rights defenders in Uzbekistan continue to be systematically persecuted. Torture, ill-treatment, arbitrary detention, fabricated prosecutions, imprisonment and excessive force are used by law enforcement officials to prevent human rights defenders from carrying out their legitimate and peaceful work in defence of human rights. The severity of the repression has contributed to a number of human rights defenders being forced to go into exile. Human rights defenders and independant journalists continue to face physical attacks, which remain unpunished. Serious obstacles to freedom of peaceful assembly persist.
