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C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 000767 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SCA, DRL, AND G/TIP 
SCA FOR BRIAN RORAFF; DRL FOR RACHEL WALDSTEIN; G/TIP FOR 
MEGAN HALL 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/02/2018 
TAGS: PHUM ICRC KWMN PGOV PREL UZ
SUBJECT: UZBEKISTAN: HEALTH CONDITION OF RELEASED HUMAN 
RIGHTS ACTIVIST UNCLEAR 
 
REF: A. TASHKENT 627 
     ¶B. TASHKENT 501 
 
Classified By: POLOFF R. FITZMAURICE FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: During a three-day visit to the Ferghana 
Valley on June 25 - 27, poloff visited human rights activist 
Mutabar Tojiboyeva at a private clinic in Margilan, where she 
has been receiving treatment since being released from prison 
on medical grounds on June 2.  Tojiboyeva explained that her 
current medical condition is unclear, as authorities have 
refused to share with her documentation from medical checkups 
performed on her while she was in prison and from a 
hysterectomy performed on her in March.  The private clinic 
has conducted its own medical examination, but its results 
appear to be unreliable.   Tojiboyeva further reported that 
conditions at the Tashkent Women's Colony have improved over 
the past six months, though she was previously mistreated by 
prison officials; that many women convicted of "normal 
criminal activity" were amnestied each year, but not 
religious prisoners or those convicted of human trafficking; 
and that her hysterectomy at a Tashkent hospital was 
scheduled at the same time the International Committee of the 
Red Cross (ICRC) visited the Tashkent Women's Colony, but 
that she was later interviewed by the ICRC during a repeat 
prison visit.  Poloff was accompanied to the meeting by the 
French DCM, whose government requested the Uzbeks to allow 
Tojiboyeva to seek medical treatment abroad.  We agree this 
would be the best option for both Tojiboyeva and the Uzbek 
government.  Furthermore, Tojiboyeva's observation that 
conditions have improved at the Tashkent Women's Colony also 
tracks with what we have heard from other activists about 
Uzbek prisons in different parts of the country.  End 
summary. 
 
TOJIBOYEVA RECEIVING MEDICAL ASSISTANCE AT PRIVATE CLINIC 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶2. (C) Accompanied by French DCM Christophe Le Rigoleur, 
poloff met on June 25 with human rights activist Mutabar 
Tojiboyeva, who was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment on 
politically-motivated charges in 2006 and was released from 
prison on medical grounds on June 2 (ref A).  Poloff and Le 
Rigoleur met with Tojiboyeva at a private medical clinic 
where she was receiving treatment.  Tojiboyeva was very 
talkative and appeared in good spirits, but she also 
complained of suffering from a host of medical ailments. 
 
¶3.  (C) Tojiboyeva noted that the private clinic charged its 
patients 8,000 soums (6 dollars) a day, not including the 
price of any medications.  Tojiboyeva estimated that her 
planned ten-day stay at the private medical clinic would cost 
300,000 soums (227 dollars) (Comment: Tojiboyeva was provided 
money through the U.S. State Department's Global Defender's 
Fund, and we believe she is using some of those funds to pay 
for her stay at the private medical clinic, which is 
relatively expensive by Uzbek standards.  End comment.) 
 
TOJIBOYEVA'S CURRENT MEDICAL CONDITION UNCLEAR 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶4. (C) Tojiboyeva's current medical status is unclear, as the 
government reportedly refuses to share with her the results 
of medical evaluations that were performed on her while she 
was imprisoned.  In March, while still imprisoned, Tojiboyeva 
underwent what appears to be a hysterectomy at a public 
hospital in Tashkent (ref B).  Tojiboyeva told poloff on June 
25 that she was not informed about the operation before it 
occurred, and authorities did not subsequently share with 
Tojiboyeva any detailed information or documents about the 
 
 
operation.  A Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) 
representative visited Tojiboyeva in prison after the 
operation, and told her that her illness was serious and used 
some medical terminology to describe it, but Tojiboyeva said 
that she did not understand or remember the medical 
terminology that was used (Comment: Human Rights Watch 
director Igor Vorontsov earlier told poloff that Tojiboyeva 
had cancer.  While this is still a possibility, it now 
appears less certain.  End comment.) 
 
 
¶5. (C) Since her operation, Tojiboyeva reported that she has 
trouble sleeping and suffers from hot flashes.  She said that 
she feels particularly ill in the morning and that her 
symptoms appear to worsen in six to ten day cycles.  She also 
reported that she has high blood pressure and suffered from 
frequent fainting spells while in prison.  In addition, she 
has problems with her kidneys.  Fortunately, Tojiboyeva 
reported that her lungs "were fine" and that she had not 
contracted tuberculosis while in prison. 
 
¶6.  (C) Tojiboyeva said that the doctors at the private 
medical clinic had examined her, and gave poloff a printout 
of their results.  Tojiboyeva noted that the document listed 
42 medical illnesses from which she reportedly suffered, 
including anemia and diabetes, but added that she did not 
understand some of the other illnesses.  After returning to 
Tashkent, poloff shared the medical document with a local 
doctor who works at the Embassy.  The doctor said that the 
document was not a serious medical document and contained no 
meaningful medical information about Tojiboyeva.  He believed 
that the document came from an unreliable "computerized 
diagnostic" machine sold in the former Soviet Union which 
purportedly detects illnesses simply by measuring one's blood 
pressure or irises.  The doctor said that he would be 
surprised if such a machine was being used at a private 
medical facility.  Poloff has requested that the Tojiboyeva 
family share the contact information of the private medical 
clinic, so that the Embassy doctor could directly confer with 
the doctor who treated Tojiboyeva. 
 
CURRENT RESTRICTIONS ON MOVEMENT ALSO UNCLEAR 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (C) Tojiboyeva emphasized that she was not amnestied, but 
was released from prison on health grounds on a suspended 
three-year sentence.  Tojiboyeva was unsure about the current 
restrictions on her movement and other activities.  Local 
police in Margilan reportedly told her that she remains 
subject to the conditions of Article 72 of the Criminal Code 
(which covers suspended sentences), but she has not received 
any official documentation from the Uzbek government to this 
effect.  According to Tojiboyeva's interpretation of Article 
72, she is unable to leave the country (Comment: According to 
the Embassy's Legal Assistant, Article 72 does not expressly 
forbid an individual from traveling abroad, but does require 
them  to periodically check in with the police, so it is 
generally interpreted as preventing individuals from leaving 
Uzbekistan.  End comment.)  Tojiboyeva believed that she was 
able to travel internally in Uzbekistan, but needed to 
receive permission from the local police department before 
leaving Margilan.  Both poloff and Le Rigoleur invited 
Tojiboyeva to their respective upcoming national days.  On 
June 30, Tojiboyeva's brother Rasul told poloff that 
Tojiboyeva received permission from the Margilan police 
department to attend the Embassy's 4th of July reception this 
week. However, on July 2, Rasul told poloff that Mutabar 
would not attend the reception, as she was warned by the 
police on July 1 that she could have "problems" if she left 
Margilan. 
 
 
¶8.  (C) Tojiboyeva had no plans to curtail her human rights 
activism while she remained under the suspended sentenced, 
noting "they can break my body, but they can never break my 
spirit."  Since her release from prison, Tojiboyeva has given 
several interviews in which she is harshly critical of the 
Karimov regime, most recently in a lengthy interview with the 
independent Ferghana.ru website on June 24.  On June 25, 
Tojiboyeva told poloff that she was planning to make a 
documentary on the Uzbek prison system entitled "Islands of 
Torture." 
 
¶9.  (C) Tojiboyeva reported to poloff and Le Rigoleur that 
she continues to be under heavy surveillance, noting that as 
many as three cars are parked outside of her home or the 
private medical clinic at any one time.  Indeed, while 
escorting poloff and Le Rigoleur out of the private clinic, 
she pointed out a surveillance team and waved to them. 
 
TOJIBOYEVA SAYS CONDITIONS AT PRISON IMPROVED OVER TIME 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶10.  (C) Tojiboyeva told poloff and Le Rigoleur that 
conditions at the Tashkent Women's Colony, where she was 
imprisoned, improved after a new prison administrator was 
appointed six months ago.  After the change in prison 
administration, Tojiboyeva said that she was treated "with 
much greater respect" than before. 
 
¶11.  (C) Under the old prison administrator, Tojiboyeva noted 
that she spent more than 100 days in isolated confinement, 
including almost 50 days in winter, and was not given care 
packages sent by her relatives.  The cell in which she was 
held was reportedly cold and damp, and she was not provided 
with adequately warm clothing.  Tojiboyeva believed that her 
medical problems stemmed from the extreme cold she endured in 
isolated confinement (Comment: Irregardless of whether this 
is true or not, it is a common belief in the former Soviet 
Union that many diseases are tied to the cold.  End comment.) 
 She explained that her lawyers, which included her sister 
and Tashkent-based human rights lawyer Rukhiddin Komilov, 
were often prevented from visiting her.  At one point, she 
said that prison guards forced her to raise her arms above 
her head for more than four hours, during which time she was 
insulted and humiliated.  In addition, she said that she was 
often forced to work by prison guards despite her poor 
medical condition.  Prior to her conviction in 2006, 
Tojiboyeva also reported that she was beaten by police while 
in pre-trial detention in Ferghana. 
 
HYSTERECTOMY REPORTEDLY COINCIDED WITH ICRC PRISON VISIT 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
¶12.  (C) Tojiboyeva observed that her hysterectomy at the 
Tashkent hospital coincided with the International Committee 
of the Red Cross's (ICRC) visit to the Tashkent Women's 
Colony on March 25 - April 1.  According to Tojiboyeva, she 
was released from the hospital on April 2, the day after the 
ICRC ended its visit.  Tojiboyeva had no doubts that 
authorities purposely scheduled her surgery to overlap with 
the ICRC visit.  However, Tojiboyeva said she was later 
interviewed by the ICRC during a later repeat visit to the 
Tashkent Women's Colony.  Prior to the ICRC visits, 
Tojiboyeva reported that the prison administration attempted 
to clean the prison and provide inmates with new clothes and 
toiletries. 
 
OBSERVES THAT CONVICTED TRAFFICKERS ARE NOT AMNESTIED 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶13.  (C) Tojiboyeva reported that the Tashkent Women's Colony 
held approximately 1,400 prisoners, and that many of those 
convicted of "normal criminal offences" were amnestied each 
year.  She noted that women convicted of religious extremism 
were not amnestied.  Interestingly enough, she noted that 
another group of women who were not amnestied were those 
convicted of human trafficking.  Tojiboyeva noted that these 
women were not given "lengthy sentences," but served them out 
(Comment: The Uzbeks have been criticized in the past for 
amnestying individuals, especially women, who were convicted 
for human trafficking.  Tojiboyeva's observation, in addition 
to information provided by the MFA this year for the annual 
Trafficking-In-Persons (TIP) report, suggests that this 
phenomenon is less prevalent than what might have earlier 
been the case.  End comment.) 
 
FRENCH REQUEST THAT TOJIBOYEVA BE ALLOWED TO LEAVE UZBEKISTAN 
FOR TREATMENT 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
¶14.  (C) Le Rigoleur told Tojiboyeva that she was released 
shortly after French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner had 
sent a letter to President Karimov covering several issues of 
bilateral interest, and which also specifically requested 
that Karimov release Tojiboyeva.  Le Rigoleur added that 
President Karimov later told a visiting French delegation 
that he had released Tojiboyeva because the French government 
had asked him to do so.  Shortly after Tojiboyeva's release, 
the French Embassy also claimed credit in a press release on 
its website (Comment: We believe that the French comments are 
self-serving and that  Tojiboyeva's release was the result of 
intensive lobbying by several like-minded Embassies, 
including the United States.  It should be noted that 
Tojiboyeva was released at almost exactly the same time 
Assistant Secretary Richard Boucher was meeting with 
President Karimov on June 2.  End comment.) 
 
¶15.  (C) Le Rigoleur asked Tojiboyeva's permission for the 
French Ambassador to request that the Uzbek government let 
Tojiboyeva leave Uzbekistan to receive medical treatment 
abroad.  Tojiboyeva agreed, and then spoke briefly with the 
French Ambassador by cell phone.  After the meeting, Le 
Rigoleur told poloff that the French government would be able 
to pay at least part of the cost of sending Tojiboyeva abroad 
for medical treatment, and noted that the German government 
was also interested in providing medical assistance to 
Tojiboyeva. 
 
¶16.  (C) Le Rigoleur later confirmed to poloff that the 
French Ambassador requested that Tojiboyeva be allowed to 
leave Uzbekistan during a meeting at the MFA on June 26.  As 
of July 1, the French Embassy has not yet received a response 
from the MFA. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶17. (C) Tojiboyeva stands tall as one of the most principled 
and determined human rights activists in Uzbekistan.  She has 
suffered for it, yet remains indomitable.  Given that she has 
not been given an adequate diagnosis or explanation about her 
illness by Uzbek doctors, we agree with the French that the 
best option for Tojiboyeva would be for her to seek medical 
treatment abroad.  We also assess it would be in the best 
interests of the Uzbeks to let her leave the country, as it 
will be another public relations disaster for them if 
Tojiboyeva's health continued to deteriorate in Uzbekistan. 
It remains to be seen whether they will let her go. 
 
¶18. (C) Tojiboyeva's observation that conditions at the 
 
Tashkent Women's Colony began to improve roughly six months 
ago also tracks with what we have heard from other activists 
(representing different human rights organizations) about 
conditions improving at Uzbek prisons in different regions of 
the country.  We believe that this  improvement is directly 
tied with the restart of ICRC prison visits in March, and 
that the continuation of such  visits remains the best hope 
for encouraging further improvement in prison conditions.  In 
addition, we believe that Tojiboyeva's comment that women 
convicted of human trafficking are among those not granted 
amnesty indicates that the government is beginning to make 
sure that convicted traffickers are serving real jail time. 
NORLAND