EU Expresses Alarm Over Uzbek Dissidents
November 08, 2005
Sanjar Umarov (file photo) (RFE/RL)
The statement was released on behalf of all 25 EU foreign ministers who met in Brussels yesterday.
It says the European Union is concerned at reports of the "unacceptable conditions" in which Uzbek authorities are detaining Sanjar Umarov, leader of the Sunshine Coalition, and demands an independent assessment of his condition.
The EU says it is also concerned at the circumstances of the arrest and detention of Mukhtabar Tojibaeva and Saidjahon Zainabitdinov and seeks assurances they are unharmed.
The statement recalls previous EU expressions of concern at the circumstances in which Dilshod Khajiev, Tavakkal Khajiev, Hasan Shakirov, and Mukhammad Qodirov were returned to Uzbekistan despite being recognized as refugees by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.
Today's statement welcomes the release of Yelena Urlaeva from psychiatric detention late last month.