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FM AMEMBASSY TASHKENT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0478
INFO RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE
RUEHAH/AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT 4436
RUEHTA/AMEMBASSY ASTANA 0652
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RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 0952
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 1600
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RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 2886
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC 0351
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC 0498

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TASHKENT 001234 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SCA, DRL, AND G/IWI 
G/IWI FOR ANDREA BOTTNER 
SCA FOR BRIAN RORAFF 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM KPAO KWMN PGOV PREL SOCI UZ
SUBJECT: UZBEKISTAN: NOMINATION FOR INTERNATIONAL WOMEN OF 
COURAGE AWARD 
 
REF: A. SECSTATE 99729 
     ¶B. TASHKENT 767 
     ¶C. 06 TASHKENT 466 
     ¶D. 06 TASHKENT 261 
     ¶E. 07 TASHKENT 1822 
     ¶F. TASHKENT 627 
     ¶G. TASHKENT 1138 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Post is honored to nominate human rights defender 
Mutabar Tadjibayeva from Uzbekistan for the Secretary's Award 
for International Women of Courage (ref A).  A fearless and 
unfailing critic of human rights abuses in Uzbekistan, 
Tadjibayeva was imprisoned for speaking out against the 
government's actions during the violent events in the city of 
Andijon in 2005.  Tadjibayeva suffered horribly in prison - 
enduring forced psychiatric treatment and long stays in 
solitary confinement - which appears to have caused permanent 
damage to her health.  Since her release from prison on 
medical grounds this year, she has continued her human rights 
advocacy and has not shied away from criticizing authorities. 
 As Tadjibayeva commented to poloff shortly after her 
release: "... they can break my body, but they can never 
break my spirit" (ref B). 
 
ONE OF UZBEKISTAN'S MOST VOCAL HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Tadjibayeva is one of the most vocal human rights 
defenders in Uzbekistan, a country in which human rights 
abuses remain a serious area of concern.  As Chairwoman of 
her own human rights organization, the Fiery Hearts Club, 
Tadjibayeva has monitored human rights issues in the Ferghana 
Valley - one of the most sensitive regions of Central Asia - 
and helped ordinary people seek justice.  She has monitored 
trials, published articles on child labor, reported on 
violations of women's rights for the Institute for War and 
Peace Reporting (IWPR), and organized public demonstrations. 
In August 2003, Tadjibayeva suffered serious head injuries 
and was hospitalized for more than a week after a 
demonstration she organized demanding the resignation of a 
corrupt local prosecutor was forcibly dispersed by 
authorities. 
 
IMPRISONED FOR CRITICIZING AUTHORITIES OVER ANDIJON EVENTS 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) In May 2005, government forces allegedly killed 
numerous unarmed civilians and others during violent 
disturbances in the Ferghana Valley city of Andijon.  The 
estimated number of dead varied between the government's 
total of 187 and eyewitnesses' reports of several hundred. 
Afterwards, authorities engaged in a fierce crackdown on 
individuals and organizations who dared question the 
government's official version of events.  Despite the arrest 
of many of her colleagues, Tadjibayeva did not waver in her 
public condemnations of the government's use of force in 
Andijon.  In October 2005, Tadjibayeva was arrested at her 
home as she was preparing to travel to Ireland for a human 
rights conference.  She was charged with 17 counts of 
criminal activity, including slander, extortion, tax evasion, 
and membership in an illegal organization - her own 
unregistered human rights group. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Despite the threat of a long prison sentence, 
Tadjibayeva remained defiant and told the court, "I do not 
regret my activities and I will continue them regardless of 
the verdict."  In March 2006, following the conclusion of a 
trial in which she was denied the right to prepare an 
adequate defense and cross-examine several key state 
 
TASHKENT 00001234  002 OF 003 
 
 
witnesses, Tadjibayeva was sentenced to eight years' 
imprisonment (refs C and D). 
 
ENDURED SEVERE MISTREATMENT IN PRISON 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Tadjibayeva was held at the Tashkent Women's Prison 
Colony, where her health appears to have been permanently 
damaged due to severe ill-treatment.  In July 2006, prison 
authorities committed Tadjibayeva to a prison psychiatric 
ward for ten days, where doctors reportedly administered 
unknown oral medications.  She was held for long periods of 
time in solitary confinement for allegedly violating internal 
prison regulations and was frequently denied access to her 
relatives and lawyers for ostensibly the same reason. 
Between August and November 2007, Tadjibayeva was able to 
smuggle out of prison several letters in which she described 
her suffering: "...I do not want to be forgotten."; "...They 
are afraid of my truth, so they torture me this way."; "...I 
am holding out as much as I can" (ref E). 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Tadjibayeva's health reportedly deteriorated after 
she was placed in an unheated solitary confinement cell in 
winter for almost 50 days.  She developed anemia, low blood 
pressure, and problem with her kidneys.  Tadjibayeva was 
later diagnosed by prison doctors with an unknown but serious 
illness and underwent surgery in March 2008 at the Tashkent 
Oncological Hospital.  After the surgery, Tadjibayeva was 
returned to prison, where authorities refused to discuss her 
diagnosis or prognosis with her (ref B). 
 
RELEASED ON MEDICAL GROUNDS, BUT NOT AMNESTIED... 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) After serving two years and eight months of her 
eight-year prison sentence, Tadjibayeva was released on 
medical grounds in June 2008 during a visit to Tashkent by 
Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia Richard 
Boucher.  She was not amnestied and remains under a 
three-year suspended sentence (ref F).  Since her release, 
Tadjibayeva has renewed her human rights activism and is in 
the process of attempting to register her Fiery Hearts Club 
with local authorities in the Ferghana Valley.  She has 
continued to criticize authorities over human rights issues, 
including prison conditions, during interviews with 
independent journalists.  We have always found Tadjibayeva's 
human rights reporting to be balanced and objective. 
 
GRANTED AN EXIT VISA, ABLE TO TRAVEL ABROAD 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) After interventions by post and European Embassies, 
authorities in September 2008 finally issued Tadjibayeva an 
exit visa for her to receive medical treatment abroad (ref 
G).  She is currently receiving treatment at a hospital in 
Germany and is expected to return to Uzbekistan in November 
¶2008.  Since Tadjibayeva now has an exit visa, we believe 
that she will be allowed to travel to Washington next year if 
she is selected as a finalist for the Women of Courage award 
(Note: While the government sometimes has been reluctant to 
issue exit visas to human rights activists, in the past year, 
authorities have generally not interfered in the 
international travel of activists who already possessed exit 
visas.  For example, five prominent human rights activists 
with exit visas were allowed to participate in an 
International Visitors exchange program with the United 
States in September 2008.  End note.) 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Mutabar Tadjibayeva has proven herself to be an 
 
TASHKENT 00001234  003 OF 003 
 
 
exceptionally brave woman in a country where standing up for 
human rights is often a dangerous activity.  While she has 
certainly paid a personal price for her defense of others, 
Tojiboyeva has shown no regrets for her continued activism. 
Given her principled stand on human rights in the face of 
enormous government pressure, we believe that Mutabar 
Tadjibayeva is fully deserving of the Secretary's Award for 
International Women of Courage. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Post has discussed the Award with Tadjibayeva, who 
agreed to be nominated. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Biodata and Contact Information for Mutabar 
Tadjibayeva: 
 
-- Full Legal Name: Mutabar Tadjibayeva 
-- Title and Organization: Chairwoman, Fiery Hearts Club 
-- Date of Birth: August 25, 1962 
-- Country of Birth: Uzbekistan 
-- Citizenship: Uzbekistan 
-- Address: 286 Zarafshan Street, Margilan, Uzbekistan 
-- Telephone Number:  998 90 560 4226,  998 590 303 4299 
-- Email address: mutabartadjibaeva@gmail.ru 
-- Passport Number: CF 2873723 (Uzbekistan) 
 
¶12. (U) Post's POC is Richard Fitzmaurice, Political Officer: 
-- Telephone Number:  998 71 120 5450, ext. 2112 
-- Mobile:  998 90 370 0427 
-- Fax:  998 71 120 6335 
-- E-mail: FitzmauriceRG@state.gov 
NORLAND