Political Prisoner in Uzbekistan: Azam Farmanov
Geschreven op 28-4-2010 - Erik van Erne. Geplaatst in Mensenrechten
Azam Farmanov (born 1978) is the head of the Sirdaria regional branch of the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan (HRSU). He was arrested on 29 April 2006 because he had defended the land rights of farmers who had accused the local agricultural authorities of exploitation, mismanagement and corruption.
Azam Farmanov is the son-in-law of Talib Yakubov, founder and leader of the HRSU. Azam was ordered to give up his human rights work, distance himself from his father-in-law, and divorce his wife Ozoda. He refused, and was sentenced to nine years in jail.
Azam Farmanov is being held in Yaslik, one of the worst prison camps in Uzbekistan. During a visit from his wife Ozoda, he told her that he was being tortured, beaten and humiliated.
The couple have two children, a daughter and a son. Their son was born one week after Farmanov’s arrest. Father and son first met at the prison. Father-in-law Talib Yakubov was forced to flee Uzbekistan because of his activities, and now lives in exile in France.
Despite his fragile health there has been no let up in his campaigning to focus attention on the human rights situation in Uzbekistan and on the plight of Azam Farmanov.
