EN 
FR 
RU 
We are writing to you to express our serious concern about life and security of a prominent Uzbek poet, Yusuf Juma and his family.
On December 10, 2007, armed men from the Uzbek state security service stormed his house and caused substantial damage to his property. He, himself, and his family members managed to avoid arrest. However, on December 17, 2007, Yusuf Juma and his son Bobur Jumaev were arrested by the Uzbek law enforcement agents. On December 22, 2007 they were transferred to Otobozor prison in Bukhara region.
Such actions of the Uzbek authorities are meant to intimidate the public and to impose a sense of fear in people to prevent further protests against the re-election of the incumbent president of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov for the third term.
Yusuf Juma is one of Uzbekistan’s most prominent and respected poets, whose talent and courage became a source of inspiration for many Uzbeks. He exposed dictatorial regime and its cruelty in his pamphlets and poems and that what has made him one of the most dangerous people for the regime.
Born in 1958 in the Karakul region of Bukhara province, he graduated from the Bukhara Pedagogical Institute. In 1984 his first collection of poems, The Gold Apple of Truth, was published to great acclaim. In the early 1990s he became an active member of the opposition movement Birlik. Since that time he has been subjected to harassment by the authorities, and his poems have been banned from publication in Uzbekistan. In 2001 he was accused of “insulting the President of Uzbekistan” (article 159 of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan) and was given three-year conditional prison sentence.
On December 6, 2007, Yusuf Juma and two of his sons began a series of small demonstrations in their home region of Karakul, Bukhara province, calling for the resignation of Uzbekistan’s incumbent president, Islam Karimov. They have applied for permission to hold pickets to the local authorities. For several days they protested in various areas of the town, and then on December 10 they moved their picket to the main bus stop in the centre of Karakul town. This time there was a severe reaction. Juma and his sons were beaten by a group of policemen and forced to end their protest action.
Early on that same evening, the home of Yusuf Juma was stormed by Uzbek security operatives. Shooting indiscriminately, they destroyed everything, which was on their way. Poet’s archive and library, property possessions was destroyed. Heavily armed security forces killed two family dogs as well as some other farm animals belonging to the family. Poet’s daughter was arrested and nothing is known about her whereabouts.
Having avoided arrest or murder on December 10, Juma and part of his family went into hiding. On December 19, Yusuf Juma and his son, Bobur Jumaev were arrested at the house of Mukhiddin Akramkhodjaev, an activist of Birdamlik civic movement in Tashkent region. Presently both of them are in Otobozor prison in Bukhara region. According to local human rights defenders they are being denied access to lawyer.
Other members of Yusuf Juma’s family have also been targeted. On December 4, 2007, another of his sons, Mashrab Jumaev, was arrested on a charge of rape. The alleged rape victim has since then given a statement saying that police officers forced her to make this false claim. However, Mashrab Jumaev remains in detention. He is now accused of violating Article 159 of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan (public statements calling to unconstitutional change of the existing state order, assumption of power, or removal of legally elected authorities from power, or to unconstitutional impairment of integrity of the territory of Uzbekistan as well as dissemination of materials containing such statements).
In autumn of 2007, the local prosecutor launched a criminal case against Yusuf Juma’s wife, Gulnora Oltieva, on a charge of “attempting to overthrow the constitutional regime of Uzbekistan.” Her supposed crime was to offer support to the workers of a local factory, who refused to sign a petition in support of Islam Karimov’s re-election to the presidency.
For many years, the government of Uzbekistan has been trying to silence its critics. The attack on the house of the Uzbek poet Yusuf Juma demonstrates clearly how the current regime is willing to use force against peaceful protestors. The conciliatory approach of the EU and the USA in responding to the Andijan massacre of May 13, 2005 has reinforced the repressive machine of the Uzbek government and encouraged the cynical liquidation of those brave enough to stand up to the regime. We believe that the murder of the Kyrgyz journalist Alisher Saipov on October 24, 2007 in the city of Osh is an example of new methods being employed by the Uzbek authorities to silence their opponents. Using force against the family of Yusuf Juma is another act of violence, and this behaviour will continue until the international community deplores such actions.
The case of Yusuf Juma requires urgent attention and intervention of the international community
We appeal to the international community, as represented by the recipients of this petition, to work immediately and assertively to apply pressure on the government of Uzbekistan:
- to provide information about whereabouts of Yusuf Juma and members of his family;
- to render humane treatment to arrested Yusuf Juma and members of his family, who are under detention;
- to allow access of lawyer to Yusuf Juma and other arrested members of his family in prison;
- to demand their immediate release from detention;
- to stop persecution of the family members and relatives of Yusuf Juma and provide protection to the family of Yusuf Juma and their relatives.
We attach to this appeal poem dedicated to massacre in the city of Andijan on May 13, 2005.
Sincerely,
Jodgor OBID ,
Uzbek poet, member of the International PEN club, Austria, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Hamid ISMAILOV,
Writer, UK
Ismail DADAJANOV ,
Chairman, Democratic Forum of Uzbekistan, Sweden
Suleyman MUROD ,
Regional co-ordinator. ERK Democratic Party in USA and Canada
Jahongir MAMATOV ,
Chairman, Congress of Democratic Forces of Uzbekistan, USA
Abdujalil BOYMATOV ,
Member, Secretariat of the Society for Human Rights in Uzbekistan, Ireland
Shahida YAKUB ,
Director, Uzbekistan Initiative London. UK, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Vitaly PONOMAREV ,
Director, Programme on Monitoring of Human Rights in Central Asia, Russia
Nadezhda ATAYEVA ,
President, Association for Human Rights in Central Asia, France This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Sheenagh PUGH,
Writer, UK
Pam THOMPSON ,
Writer, UK
Alan BAKER ,
Publisher and poet, http://www.leafepress.com/litter/index.html
Peter DEUTCHMEN,
PhD on philology, professor of Gratz State University, Austria
Hannes STREMPHL ,
Director, Bureau on Family Issues “Social Integration Initiative”, Austria
Sergey KOVALEV ,
Chairman, “Memorial” Human Rights Society of Russia, Russia
Valentin GEFTER ,
Director, Human Rights Institute, Russia
Andrey BABITSKY,
Journalist, correspondent of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Czech Republic
John BLOOMBERG-RISSSMAN,
Humanities bibliographer, poet, Germane
Pat WARREN,
Poet, USA
Gerard MULHOLLAND,
Writer, France
Rafik GANIEV ,
Former Chairman of Ferghana region branch of “Ezgulik” human rights society, Sweden
Nigina MALIKOVA ,
Representative, Association for Human Rights in Central Asia, USA
Bernhard KLASEN ,
Representative, Association for Human Rights in Central Asia, Germany
Serik MEDETBEKOV ,
Foreign Office of United Opposition of Kazakhstan, Germany
Nurmukhammad KHANAMOV ,
Chairman, Republican Party “Turkmenistan”, Austria
Eldar ZEYNALOV ,
Director, Human Rights Centre, Azerbaijan
Ilgar IBRAGIMOGLU ,
Former prisoner of conscious, Chairman of Human Rights Organisation DEVAMM, imam of Baku “Juma” mosque, Azerbaijan
PEARL HERO ,
Chairwoman, Society for Protection of Oilmen of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan
Fuad HASANOV ,
Director of "Democracy Monitor" Public Union, Azerbaijan
MARCH dances ,
Director, Kazakh Community Association in Poland, Poland
By The Fashion Plus ,
Chairman Vietnam Reform Party, USA
Bakhytzhan TOREGOZHINA,
Director, Public Foundation “Ar.Rukh.Khak”, Kazakhstan
Elizabeth pléban ;
RTV reporter, Media Terra Productions, Netherlands
Farhod INOGAMBAEV ,
Representative, Uzbekistan Initiative-USA, USA
Meaning BEKJAN ,
Uzbek poet, Norway
Nosir ZOKIR ,
Head of Namangan region bureau of Birlik party, Uzbekistan
Zohid ZOKIROV ,
Representative of the Society of Human Rights in Uzbekistan in Namangan region, Uzbekistan