UZBEKISTAN: WHAT'S THE PURPOSE OF THESE REPRESSIONS?
Editorial | 24.02.2005 09:48
18th February of this year was Friday. The day of the week the Muslims consider it as the blessed and the joy. Though, any day free of repression and persecution is considered as the blessed for the Muslims of Uzbekistan…
February 23, 2005
The inhabitants living near Tashkent State Medical Institute told they saw on February 18 at about 05.30 morning fifteen jeeps packed with armed men leaving nearby military unit and rushing at full speed towards the city. Later it became known that these armed men rushed into houses of some Muslims, conducted searches without warrants and arrested innocent people terrifying them. In some cases barbarians took away Islamic books.
Such raids continued the next day too. For instance, armed officers burst into the house of Abdughaffor, a bearded blind man living near the 1st City Hospital in the afternoon. After conducting a search they took away computer, audiotapes of the Qur'an recitation and Islamic literature. Along with Abdughaffor police arrested two of his relatives. Later Abdughaffor was released at about 10.00 p.m., however his relatives still remain in the custody.
On February 19 beginning from about 4.30am the house #2 in Mamarasul Boboev Street of the Dombrobod mahalla (local community) where on the third floor 36-year-old Sobir lives with his family was encircled by the scores of ex-KGB officers in civilian clothes and in black mask. That time a number of jeeps were also rounding up the area. Despite of repeated threatening of the ex-KGB officers the homeowners refused to open the doors. Uzbek security officers beat the air till 10.30 a.m. Then people in military uniform put up a ladder against a window and rushed into the room forcing the window. They were acting as if there were hiding out prominent terrorists in Sobir's flat. Ex-KGB officers yelled "Lie down!" and put homeowners and their children face to floor and held their guns to the heads of the lying on the floor. Some of them conducted a search and found only the book of Qur'an, Hadeeth and the audiotapes of the Qur'anic recitation. The main question of the barbarians was "Have you [audio]tapes of Abid qori?" They put the handcuffs on Sobir, and invited a "domcom", a chairman or representative of neighborhood committee, a neighbor woman and two men from nearby mosque after the search. Then the invited people signed the report on search they hadn't participated. Taking away Sobir to the Ministry of the Internal Affairs, MVD, the officers said that "We came at a given signal to us".
According to recent reports Sobir was released after the authorities found no guilt.
However, according to alarm signals approximately 20 Muslims arrested during 18-19 February raids are now being questioned under torture in the MVD. Nothing is known about the guilt the authorities are going to accuse of the arrested. Parents have no information about their sons. Authorities do not accept food for the arrested people brought by their relatives. And as usual lawyers are not allowed to see their clients.
Relatives of the arrested men claim that their relatives have no guilt but praying and earning their living. "How one can expect from these guys any breaking of the law in such troubled days when all people live being afraid of their own shadow? Now people even go to the mosque with fear. Everyone knows that authorities blacklist people who attend mosque and who wear hijab. A black-list at the hand of neighborhood committees, at the hand of mosque imams, at the hand of district and city administration, and at the hand of law enforcement bodies… We know some guys who stopped attending mosques, we know some women who stopped wearing hijab. It seems the government will not leave alone others until they stop praying, reading Qur'an and so on… The only books found during the searches are Qur'an and Hadeeth books. And their questions begin with "When did you begin praying?", "What mosque do you attend?", "When did you begin wearing hijab?"… What does it signify?"
The inhabitants living near Tashkent State Medical Institute told they saw on February 18 at about 05.30 morning fifteen jeeps packed with armed men leaving nearby military unit and rushing at full speed towards the city. Later it became known that these armed men rushed into houses of some Muslims, conducted searches without warrants and arrested innocent people terrifying them. In some cases barbarians took away Islamic books.
Such raids continued the next day too. For instance, armed officers burst into the house of Abdughaffor, a bearded blind man living near the 1st City Hospital in the afternoon. After conducting a search they took away computer, audiotapes of the Qur'an recitation and Islamic literature. Along with Abdughaffor police arrested two of his relatives. Later Abdughaffor was released at about 10.00 p.m., however his relatives still remain in the custody.
On February 19 beginning from about 4.30am the house #2 in Mamarasul Boboev Street of the Dombrobod mahalla (local community) where on the third floor 36-year-old Sobir lives with his family was encircled by the scores of ex-KGB officers in civilian clothes and in black mask. That time a number of jeeps were also rounding up the area. Despite of repeated threatening of the ex-KGB officers the homeowners refused to open the doors. Uzbek security officers beat the air till 10.30 a.m. Then people in military uniform put up a ladder against a window and rushed into the room forcing the window. They were acting as if there were hiding out prominent terrorists in Sobir's flat. Ex-KGB officers yelled "Lie down!" and put homeowners and their children face to floor and held their guns to the heads of the lying on the floor. Some of them conducted a search and found only the book of Qur'an, Hadeeth and the audiotapes of the Qur'anic recitation. The main question of the barbarians was "Have you [audio]tapes of Abid qori?" They put the handcuffs on Sobir, and invited a "domcom", a chairman or representative of neighborhood committee, a neighbor woman and two men from nearby mosque after the search. Then the invited people signed the report on search they hadn't participated. Taking away Sobir to the Ministry of the Internal Affairs, MVD, the officers said that "We came at a given signal to us".
According to recent reports Sobir was released after the authorities found no guilt.
However, according to alarm signals approximately 20 Muslims arrested during 18-19 February raids are now being questioned under torture in the MVD. Nothing is known about the guilt the authorities are going to accuse of the arrested. Parents have no information about their sons. Authorities do not accept food for the arrested people brought by their relatives. And as usual lawyers are not allowed to see their clients.
Relatives of the arrested men claim that their relatives have no guilt but praying and earning their living. "How one can expect from these guys any breaking of the law in such troubled days when all people live being afraid of their own shadow? Now people even go to the mosque with fear. Everyone knows that authorities blacklist people who attend mosque and who wear hijab. A black-list at the hand of neighborhood committees, at the hand of mosque imams, at the hand of district and city administration, and at the hand of law enforcement bodies… We know some guys who stopped attending mosques, we know some women who stopped wearing hijab. It seems the government will not leave alone others until they stop praying, reading Qur'an and so on… The only books found during the searches are Qur'an and Hadeeth books. And their questions begin with "When did you begin praying?", "What mosque do you attend?", "When did you begin wearing hijab?"… What does it signify?"
Editorial
