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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TASHKENT 000326 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SCA/CEN AND DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/14/2016 
TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV PINR UZ
SUBJECT: TAJIBAYEVA - NOT A RUN-OF-THE-MILL SHOW TRIAL 
 
CLASSIFIED BY AMB. JON R. PURNELL, FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D). 
 
REF: TASHKENT 261 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: In a dramatic departure from Uzbekistan's recent 
Soviet-style show trials, human rights activist Mutabar 
Tajibayeva and her attorneys are putting up a spirited defense 
in her criminal trial.  The judge has opened the proceedings to 
outside observers: journalists, diplomats and NGO monitors have 
come to watch.  The attorneys tell us that the presence of 
monitors has made a sharp difference in the tone of the trial. 
They acknowledge it will likely not affect the verdict, though 
Tajibayeva is eligible for amnesty if convicted.  Also in 
contrast to earlier trials, witnesses and the prosecution have 
spoken of foreign journalists and human rights NGOs in a neutral 
or positive light, rather than as a cabal of intriguers seeking 
to overthrow the legitimate government.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (C) The trial of human rights activist Mutabar Tajibaeva was 
opened to outside observers on February 8.  Tajibayeva faces 
several charges, including extortion of money from clients of 
her fishing farm, polluting the environment, and attempting to 
sow panic and public disorder through her human rights advocacy 
(reftel).  According to her lawyers, the court initially closed 
the trial on the bizarre pretext that Tajibayeva's relatives 
might pose a physical threat to outside observers.  Neither 
observers nor attorneys could explain why the court decided to 
open the trial to the public in the second week of proceedings. 
 
¶3. (C) The venue - a court in the rural village of Dustobod, a 
90 minute drive from Tashkent - seemed deliberately chosen to 
limit public access.  Police blocked the town's one road and 
checked identification of all who entered.  A Human Rights Watch 
staffer reported that, during the first week of the trial, he 
and other observers were turned away by police.  On February 8, 
police tried to convince poloff that the trial had ended.  On 
February 9, however, inspections were minimal.  Still, the two 
dozen armed Interior Ministry troops guarding the court far 
outnumbered the handful of trial observers. (Note: While mostly 
for show, the security presence was sometimes intrusive.  An 
Uzbek national employee of the Swiss Embassy told poloff that 
after attending the trial on February 8, two guards from the 
court followed him back to Tashkent and tailed him for more than 
two hours while he ran errands.  End note.) 
 
¶4. (C) Tajibayeva has pleaded not guilty to all charges and 
hired three private lawyers - including her sister - who have 
actively advocated her case to Western embassies and human 
rights groups.  Shortly before the trial began, the lawyers 
reported that Tajibayeva attempted to commit suicide by slitting 
her wrists.  However, as observers filed into the courtroom, she 
appeared healthy and cheerful, greeting visitors with smiles and 
conversation.  She sat alone in a cage in the cramped courtroom, 
frequently studying her case notes, which were scattered around 
her in folders.  During testimony, she appeared animated, taking 
notes and occasionally standing to contest witness' statements. 
Her lawyers actively questioned the judge and prosecuting 
attorneys on substance and procedure. 
 
¶5. (C) On February 8 and 9, two witnesses testified.  The first 
was a man who claimed to have done business with Tajibayeva 
buying and selling livestock.  He said that he had accumulated a 
business debt to Tajibayeva, who in turn demanded that he repay 
her a far higher sum.  The second witness, Mansur Ruziboyev, 
said he was a friend of Tajibayeva who was familiar with her 
human rights work.  Following initial testimony and cross- 
examination by the judge and prosecution, both witnesses claimed 
they were ill, and the judge excused them from the court before 
the defense could take its turn to cross-examine.  Tajibayeva 
and her lawyers responded with impassioned complaints that the 
judge was violating Tajibayeva's right to defend herself.  The 
defense also requested more time to study the case materials. 
Tajibayeva and her attorneys claimed that she has examined only 
a fraction of the 5,500 pages of case documents, and that the 
lawyers have not had enough time to work with her to develop a 
defense strategy. 
 
¶6. (C) Tajibayeva's lawyers thanked observers for appearing at 
the trial.  They said that when the trial was closed, it was 
very one-sided, with the judge and prosecution dismissing 
questions and protests from the defense team outright, and 
showing callous disrespect for Tajibayeva.  With observers 
present, they said, the entire tone of the proceedings had 
changed to be more balanced. 
 
¶7. (C) One attorney noted that if Tajibayeva was found guilty, 
this would be her first criminal conviction.  She would, 
therefore, be eligible for amnesty under a Senate resolution 
 
TASHKENT 00000326  002 OF 002 
 
 
passed in early December.  If Tajibayeva had pleaded guilty, she 
could have qualified prior to the trial.  However, as she 
pleaded not guilty, she will be eligible for amnesty only after 
she is convicted.  The attorney said there is little hope for 
acquittal, but that Tajibayeva's prison sentence could be 
reduced under the amnesty. 
 
¶8. (C) In previous Andijon-related trials, state prosecutors 
portrayed a plot by foreign journalists and independent human 
rights groups to slander the GOU and destabilize the country. 
In Tajibayeva's trial, in contrast, while human rights 
activists, journalists, and "foreigners" are mentioned, it has 
so far been in a neutral or positive light.  For example, 
witness Mansur Ruziboyev discussed meeting Marat Zakhidov, a 
well-known human rights and political activist whose 
organization Tajibayeva had joined, and praised Zakhidov as "a 
man of vision."  The printed indictment notes Tajibayeva 
received a $5,620 grant from USAID, and $200 from the French 
Embassy for her human rights work (reftel).  Prosecutors did not 
fault her for receiving the money, but only for "misusing" it. 
In the trial, two of the three judges asked witness Mansur 
Ruziboyev whether Tajibayeva received foreign support, but he 
responded only that he had heard about a grant of roughly 
$5,000, but did not know where it had come from. 
 
¶9. (C) COMMENT: This is no run-of-the-mill Soviet-style show 
trial.  In the Supreme Court trial of Andijon terrorist suspects 
in late 2005, defendants delivered prepared speeches professing 
their guilt and begging for mercy, while defense attorneys 
remained quiet and submissive.  Tajibayeva, in contrast, has 
seized on her international exposure to proclaim her innocence, 
and is working in concert with her activist attorneys to use 
court procedure to her own advantage.  To be sure, the defendant 
in an Uzbek court has no advantages, and essentially no hope for 
acquittal.  But this has not diminished Tajibayeva's courage or 
her energy. 
 
PURNELL