Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Uzbekistan

Uzbek Prosecutor Demands 18 Years For Opposition Leader

Sanjar Umarov (file photo) (RFE/RL)

TASHKENT, 24 February 2006 (RFE/RL) -- An Uzbek prosecutor is demanding an 18-year prison term for an opposition leader standing trial on charges of tax evasion and other economic crimes.

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February 24, 2006

Sanjar Umarov, the chairman of the Sunshine Coalition, has pleaded innocent to all charges. The political grouping has been a vocal critic of the government's bloody crackdown on protesters in the eastern city of Andijon in May 2005.

Umarov's lawyer, Vitaly Krasilovsky, dismissed the charges, telling RFE/RL's Uzbek Service that the prosecutor "has no proof of the many crimes that Sanjar Umarov is charged with."

Uzbek prosecutors last week also demanded a 12-year prison sentence for Nodira Hidoyatova, another Sunshine activist. Her sister, Nigora, described the proceedings to the French news agency AFP as a "show trial."

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A dedicated webpage bringing together all of RFE/RL's coverage of the events in Andijon, Uzbekistan, in May 2005 and their continuing repercussions.

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