Azam Farmonov
Encyclopedia
Azam Farmonov is a currently-imprisoned Uzbekistan
i rural development
activist. Amnesty International
considers him a prisoner of conscience
and named him a 2011 "priority case".
Farmonov has a wife, Ozoda Yakubova, and two children. His father-in-law, Talib Yakubov, is the Vice President of the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan.
On 29 April 2006, Farmonov was arrested along with fellow activist Alisher Karamatov
and charged with extortion. The two later reported torture by security forces, including partial suffocation
with a disconnected gas mask
and beatings on the legs and heels. Human Rights Watch
condemned the trial and stated that it "appear[ed] to be a politically motivated effort to stop their human rights work" in keeping with a recent pattern of suspicious charges against human rights workers. Front Line
also described the arrests as politically motivated and "part of an ongoing campaign against human rights defenders in Uzbekistan." Amnesty International
also condemned the charges and called for the immediate release of Farmonov and Karamatov. Uzbekistani government officials, however, denied that the extortion charges were politically motivated.
Both men were convicted and sentenced to nine years in prison. As of February 2010, Farmonov was currently serving his sentence at Yaslik "severe regime" prison camp in violation of his sentence, which called for a "general regime" camp. According to his wife, he has repeatedly been placed in a "punishment cell," and on 8 January 2008, was stripped naked, handcuffed, and left in an unheated punishment cell for 23 days.
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
i rural development
Rural development
Rural development in general denotes economic development and community development actions and initiatives taken to improve the standard of living in non-urban neighbourhoods, remote villages and the countryside...
activist. Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
considers him a prisoner of conscience
Prisoner of conscience
Prisoner of conscience is a term defined in Peter Benenson's 1961 article "The Forgotten Prisoners" often used by the human rights group Amnesty International. It can refer to anyone imprisoned because of their race, religion, or political views...
and named him a 2011 "priority case".
Farmonov has a wife, Ozoda Yakubova, and two children. His father-in-law, Talib Yakubov, is the Vice President of the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan.
On 29 April 2006, Farmonov was arrested along with fellow activist Alisher Karamatov
Alisher Karamatov
Alisher Karamatov is a currently-imprisoned Uzbekistani rural development activist. Amnesty International considers him a prisoner of conscience and named him a 2011 "priority case"....
and charged with extortion. The two later reported torture by security forces, including partial suffocation
Suffocation
Suffocation is the process of Asphyxia.Suffocation may also refer to:* Suffocation , an American death metal band* "Suffocation", a song on Morbid Angel's debut album, Altars of Madness...
with a disconnected gas mask
Gas mask
A gas mask is a mask put on over the face to protect the wearer from inhaling airborne pollutants and toxic gases. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft tissues of the face. Some gas masks are also respirators, though the word...
and beatings on the legs and heels. Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
condemned the trial and stated that it "appear[ed] to be a politically motivated effort to stop their human rights work" in keeping with a recent pattern of suspicious charges against human rights workers. Front Line
Front Line (NGO)
Front Line or The International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders is an Irish-based human rights organisation founded in Dublin, Ireland in 2001 to protect human rights defenders at risk, i.e...
also described the arrests as politically motivated and "part of an ongoing campaign against human rights defenders in Uzbekistan." Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
also condemned the charges and called for the immediate release of Farmonov and Karamatov. Uzbekistani government officials, however, denied that the extortion charges were politically motivated.
Both men were convicted and sentenced to nine years in prison. As of February 2010, Farmonov was currently serving his sentence at Yaslik "severe regime" prison camp in violation of his sentence, which called for a "general regime" camp. According to his wife, he has repeatedly been placed in a "punishment cell," and on 8 January 2008, was stripped naked, handcuffed, and left in an unheated punishment cell for 23 days.