VZCZCXRO8811
RR RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDBU RUEHIK RUEHLH RUEHLN RUEHNEH RUEHPOD
RUEHPW RUEHSK RUEHSL RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHNT #1499/01 2610847
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 180847Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY TASHKENT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1332
INFO ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
CIS COLLECTIVE
NATO EU COLLECTIVE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0027
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0220
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TASHKENT 001499 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PHUM ELAB PGOV UZ
SUBJECT: Uzbekistan: Update on Trial of Journalist Dilmurod Sayid 
 
REF: TASHKENT 1481 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  The Regional Samarkand Court on September 11 
upheld the 12.5 year sentence of independent journalist and human 
rights activist Dilmurod Sayid on charges of extortion and bribery. 
(See reftel.)  Sayid's attorney will appeal this decision to the 
Chairman of the Regional Court, and then to the Supreme Court, if 
necessary.  Sayyid's wife met with poloff to discuss his situation, 
reporting that both his health and mental state are deteriorating, 
and that amnesty is unlikely. End summary. 
 
 
 
Procedural Status 
 
----------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) The latest hearing was relatively uneventful, and while 
the Court pronounced its judgment from the bench, it did not 
produce a written decision.  A written decision is required before 
the case can be appealed, and the Court has twice told Sayid's 
attorney to come back at a later time for the decision, but it has 
not been issued as yet.  Sayid's attorney, Rukhiddin Kamilov, will 
proceed with an appeal to the Chairman of the Regional Court as 
soon as the written decision is released.  From there, the case 
will go to the Supreme Court. 
 
 
 
Sayid's Condition 
 
----------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) On September 15, 2009, Sayid's wife, Barno Djumanova, met 
with poloff to discuss the case.  She explained that she was 
allowed to meet with Sayid (for a small fee) for about three 
minutes following the hearing.  During that meeting, Sayyid told 
her that his health is getting worse, and that he does not expect 
to go free or to live to see the end of his sentence. 
 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) Djumanova is very concerned for Sayyid's health, noting 
that she paid prison guards to pass some medicine to him, but they 
did not deliver it.  She stated that while guards have not beaten 
Sayyid, they sometimes deprive him of food, and the damp basement 
facility in which he is kept aggravates his hepatitis.  She 
described Sayyid asking for her forgiveness for any wrongs he had 
done, and stated that she believes that Sayyid is starting to say 
his goodbyes. 
 
 
 
Irregularities 
 
-------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) At least theoretically, Sayid could be eligible to apply 
for amnesty even before his appeal is completed.  But Djumanova 
said that detention guards have already filed complaints against 
him for violating internal rules, such as fighting with another 
inmate, which will prevent him from being eligible.  Similar steps 
have been taken against the other defendants in the case as well, 
with one receiving a written reprimand for napping during the day, 
and another for talking through the window of his cell.  Apparently 
two written reprimands result in ineligibility for amnesty. 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) Djumanova firmly believes that the national security 
service is behind this case.  She recounted a meeting in which the 
family members of the defendants met with the judge, Mirmud 
Hamedov, who presided over the initial trial.  When asked how he 
could convict these innocent people, the judge reportedly said that 
he was pressured by the NSS, and that the case wasn't up to him. 
Djumanova, seemingly without animosity, called the judge a "puppet" 
in the case. 
 
TASHKENT 00001499  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) Djumanova also reported some harassment, stating that 
recently someone from the NSS came to her house and alleged that 
her husband was receiving funding from foreign governments.  She 
also has been unable to find employment, stating that as soon as 
she submits her personal data, it is returned to her.  It wasn't 
clear whether she believed this was NSS-directed, or simply because 
people fear the hassles that could come along with hiring her. 
 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) Comment: Appeals will go forward on this case until all 
manner of review is exhausted, but there is little basis to believe 
a reversal is likely.  Diplomatic missions and internet press 
continue to urge the government to step in to ensure that due 
process requirements are being met, but as yet, the GOU  has made 
no official statement on the case.  This case will be a priority 
one to raise under the "human dimension" portion of the bilateral 
consultation process being established between the USG and the GOU. 
 
 
 
 
NORLAND 
NORLAND