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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TASHKENT 000269 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/CACEN, SA, AND DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/02/2016 
TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV ECON UZ
SUBJECT: PROSECUTORS SEEK TO MERGE SUNSHINE COALITION LEADERS' 
TRIALS 
 
CLASSIFIED BY AMB. JON R. PURNELL, FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D). 
 
REF: TASHKENT 0186 AND PREVIOUS 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: January 30 was scheduled to be the last day of 
Sunshine Coalition co-founder Nodira Khidoyatova's trial on 
tax evasion charges.  It also was to be the first day of 
fellow co-founder Sanjar Umarov's trial on similar 
accusations.  Instead, the judge postponed action on both 
cases and entertained a prosecution motion to combine the two 
into a single trial.  Surprisingly, diplomats and human rights 
activists were allowed to observe the hearing.  Given the 
legal maneuvering by the prosecutor and defense attorneys, we 
expect the process to continue until mid-February.  Despite 
the increased time now being dedicated to the two cases, in 
the end, we expect the final verdicts will be "guilty," but in 
view of the bizarre theatrics involved in the process, we 
cannot exclude the possibility of light or even suspended 
sentences.  End summary. 
 
ACT ONE: NODIRA KHIDOYATOVA'S NON-VERDICT 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (C) Sources in the Free Farmers Party (Ozod Dehqonlar) 
informed the Embassy that judge Zakir Isayev of the Tashkent 
City Criminal Court would deliver a verdict in the tax evasion 
trial of Sunshine Coalition co-founder Nodira Khidoyatova on 
the morning of January 30.  Fellow co-founder Sanjar Umarov's 
trial was scheduled to begin on the same day.  That morning, 
guards admitted about 20 observers, including poloff and a 
British diplomat, human rights activists, and Khidoyatova's 
family, into the cramped basement courtroom.  Nodira 
Khidoyatova sat in the defendant's cage.  Her sister, Ozod 
Dehqonlar head Nigora Khidoyatova, told poloff later that her 
sister seemed well and in good spirits.  (Comment: We agree. 
Nodira looked healthy, well rested, and fashionably dressed in 
jeans, a sweater, and high-heeled shoes.  She held a Bible, 
which she occasionally opened to apparently random pages and 
read during the prosecuting attorney's presentation.  End 
comment.)  She frequently made eye contact with her sister, 
and on occasion the two whispered to each other, and even 
shared a laugh across the courtroom. 
 
¶3. (C) As the hearing began, the judge denied motions, 
reportedly filed earlier by the defendant herself, to declare 
the hearing closed and to fire her defense attorney. 
(Comment: If Khidoyatova indeed filed such motions, she may 
have done so under pressure from investigators.  End comment.) 
The State Prosecutor then read the indictment against 
Khidoyatova.  The indictment included the accusation that, as 
director of the petroleum firm Buyuk Siymolar, Khidoyatova had 
conspired with Sanjar Umarov to sell Uzbek petroleum products 
abroad and hide the proceeds - allegedly more than USD 3 
million - from tax authorities in offshore bank accounts. 
(Note: While post has no information suggesting that 
Khidoyatova has had business dealings with Umarov, we would 
not be surprised if the two cooperated in business, though 
Khidoyatova's family has consistently denied it.  End note.) 
 
¶4. (C) In light of government accusations of complicity 
between Khidoyatova and Umarov, the prosecutor asked the judge 
to combine the two cases into a single trial.  Both the 
prosecutor and defense attorney asked the judge to instruct 
the attorneys on how to proceed.  The judge thus adjourned the 
trial until the afternoon.  During the recess, Khidoyatova 
reportedly met with her defense attorney.  In the afternoon 
hearing, which lasted about 35 minutes, Khidoyatova again 
firmly denied the charges against her and asked that 
additional specialists be called to testify regarding Buyuk 
Siymolar company documents, including records of previous tax 
inspections, which she said would prove her innocence.  It is 
still unclear whether both Khidoyatova and Umarov will 
eventually appear in court together. 
 
ACT TWO: SANJAR UMAROV'S FALSE START 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶5. (C) After a brief intermission, court officials summoned 
observers back into the courtroom for the opening of Sanjar 
Umarov's trial.  Umarov is accused of grand larceny and tax 
evasion, in addition to other charges, in connection with his 
business dealings.  Umarov is being tried together with three 
other men, identified as technical specialists with one of 
Umarov's petroleum ventures: Rashot Hasanboyev, Ilhom Usmanov, 
and Ravshan Babajanov.  Babajanov had not been arrested, and 
 
TASHKENT 00000269  002 OF 002 
 
 
was therefore seated in the front bench of the courtroom, and 
not in the defendants' cage with Umarov, Hasanboyev, and 
Usmanov. (Comment: Umarov, like Khidoyatova, appeared healthy, 
alert, and relaxed.  End comment.) 
 
¶6. (C) The judge opened the hearing and informed the 
defendants of their rights and responsibilities in court. 
Then Babajanov's attorney, noting that he had only recently 
joined the defense team, asked the judge to postpone the trial 
for four days while he familiarized himself with the case 
materials.  Judge Isayev asked the prosecutor for his opinion, 
whereupon the prosecutor stood and declared, "The law gives 
each defendant the right to an attorney who is well informed 
on his case.  As the defense attorney's motion does not 
contradict the law, I support it." (Comment: The prosecutor's 
statement was unnecessary and clearly intended for the benefit 
of the observers. End comment.)  Thus, the judge adjourned the 
trial until Friday, February 3. 
 
WHAT'S NEXT? 
------------- 
 
¶7. (C) Umarov's lawyer noted that, if the judge agrees to 
consider the Umarov and Khidoyatova cases as one, the two 
defendants may or may not appear in court together.  He said 
that combining the cases would be difficult, as there would be 
two defense teams on the same case with different sets of 
information.  Nigora Khidoyatova said that, in view of the 
defense motions for new evidence and witnesses, she expects 
the trial to continue at least until mid-February. 
 
¶8. (C) Comment: We expect that the Umarov-Khidoyatova trial 
will continue to be open to the public (or as much public as 
will fit into the small basement courtroom).  While post has 
yet to receive an official response to its request for access, 
courthouse guards put up little resistance to the diplomats 
and unregistered human rights activists who appeared at the 
court.  Much of the process seems geared to international 
observers, including the defendants' incongruously fashionable 
dress and the prosecuting attorney's paean on the rights of 
defendants.  Notwithstanding the GOU's formalistic show of 
openness and transparency, it would be unprecedented if the 
trial did not end with a guilty verdict.  However, this is no 
ordinary case, and Umarov and Khidoyatova are no ordinary 
defendants.  We cannot exclude the possibility of unusually 
light or even suspended sentences. 
 
PURNELL