Bahtiyor Hamraev
After international human rights and other non-governmental organisations were expelled, HRDs were left alone with a harsh political regime. Security personnel began watching the homes of HRDS, often not letting them leave their apartments. HRDs are denied freedom of movement even in their home towns.
Bahtiyor Hamraev was a dedicated campaigner for human rights in Uzbekistan for 15 years. As head of the Djizak regional branch of the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan (HRSU) and he worked to document human rights violations in the region. In recent years he became the main contact with families of imprisoned human rights defenders, helping to spread the information about their conditions in detention, the torture and ill-treatment and helping to provide the families with legal aid and financial assistance. Bahtiyor Hamraev was a finalist for the 2013 Front Line Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk. On 4 May 2013, Bahtiyor Hamraev died after a long illness.
