"I Will Hold Out Until the Very End": Political Motivated Imprisonment in Uzbekistan
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Time: 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Location: International Affairs Building, Room 1219, Columbia University
Please join the Harriman Institute for a presentation by Human Rights Watch Central Asia Researcher Steve Swerdlow on political imprisonment in Uzbekistan.
This Human Rights Watch report highlights the cases of thirty four of Uzbekistan's most prominent individuals imprisoned on politically-motivated charges, some of whom have been imprisoned for over two decades, and calls on the Uzbek government for their immediate and unconditional release. Drawing on over 150 interviews and newly-acquired documents, information gathered by Human Rights Watch illustrates the egregious abuses imprisoned human rights activists, journalists, political opposition activists, religious figures and believers, witnesses of the 2005 Andijan massacre and other perceived critics face in custody, including beatings and torture, harsh prison and dire medical conditions, and the repeated extension of their prison sentences. All have been punished for the peaceful exercise of their fundamental rights. Human Rights Watchurges Uzbekistan's international partners, including the UN Human Rights Council, the United States, and the European Union, to re-double efforts to secure political prisoners' release and hold Uzbekistan accountable for rights abuses. A short film will also be shown at the event.
Sponsored by the Harriman Institute, Columbia University