Uzbekistan Rejects Accusations Over Andijon Trials
December 26, 2005
An Andijon-related trial in November (RFE/RL)
The Prosecutor-General's Office said today the trials were "adhering to the obligations to implement international standards."
Uzbek courts have convicted more than 150 people of taking part in the Andijon events in May.
The UN's top human rights official, Louise Arbour, has said the trials "risked having produced unjust and unfounded convictions while the real perpetrators of atrocities remain unpunished."
Uzbek authorities say 187 people were killed in Andijon in May -- mostly militants, police, and soldiers. But international rights organization say troops fired indiscriminately and killed hundreds, mostly peaceful protesters.
Also on 26 December, the Interior Ministry rejected as "completely groundless" accusations from a former UN special rapporteur on torture.
Theo van Boven had said recommendations he had made after a 2002 fact-finding mission to Uzbekistan remained unfulfilled.
(AFP)