Friday, May 11, 2007

While Umida is freed, Sentence for Turaeva has been doubled...

UZBEK COURT DOUBLES PRISON SENTENCE FOR RIGHTS ACTIVIST. An Uzbek court issued a ruling on May 10 effectively doubling the prison sentence for local human rights activist Gulbahor Turaeva to a 12-year term, RFE/RL's Uzbek Service reported. Turaeva was an eyewitness to the events in Andijon in May 2005, when the Uzbek government violently suppressed a demonstration there. She was initially sentenced to a six-year prison term in April after being convicted on charges including "anticonstitutional activities,"

"threatening public order," and slander (see "RFE/RL Newsline," April

25 and May 2, 2007). The conviction was strongly criticized by the German-held presidency of the European Union (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"

May 7, 2007).

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