Returned refugees believed endangered in Uzbekistan

Islam Karimov, the President of Uzbekistan, announced that trials would begin in late September 2005 for a number of individuals blamed by that country's government for political unrest in Andizhan on 12-13 May 2005. Witnesses to those events have reported that security forces fired indiscriminately into crowds of people while they were gathered in a central square, killing hundreds of unarmed civilians in one of the worst massacres seen in Europe in recent times.

In a trial that human rights organizations and foreign observers have described as failing to meet international standards, Uzbekistan’s highest court on 14 November sentenced 15 of the men accused of involvement in the events in Andizhan to between 14 and 20 years in prison. There was widely reported evidence of forced confessions, and it is likely that the accused were subjected to torture.

Amnesty International is concerned that those demonstrators who now stand trial in Uzbekistan may not receive fair trials or other due process rights, and that they may face serious human rights violations. (At least one such person has reportedly died while being tortured in custody.) Furthermore, Amnesty International is concerned that a number of these individuals may be internationally recognized refugees (designated by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees), who were nevertheless forcibly returned from Kyrgyzstan to Uzbekistan.

For additional information about these refugees, read: Uzbekistan in Pursuit of Refugees in Kyrgyzstan. For additional information about the events in Uzbekistan, see Amnesty's report, Uzbekistan: Lifting the siege on the truth about Andizhan. Check for updates on actions.