Uzbekistan has locked up thousands of people on politically motivated charges, with prisoners typically kept in abysmal conditions and subject to torture and ill-treatment, Human Rights Watch said in a landmark new report on one of the world's most repressive and secretive regimes.
The government of President Islam Karimov had jailed human-rights activists, journalists, religious clerics and other perceived critics, said the report, issued yesterday. It profiles 34 victims, some of whom were kidnapped from abroad and locked up following sham trials.
Most were branded "enemies of the state" and jailed for nebulous offences such as "anti-constitutional activity" or "religious extremism". The sentences are often extended arbitrarily for years, the report says.
The dossier, based on 150 interviews with former detainees and relatives of serving prisoners, as well as newly obtained court documents, paints a bleak picture. According to Human Rights Watch, at least 29 of the 34 prisoners have made credible allegations of torture or ill-treatment.
Several complain of being given electric shocks and of hangings from wrists and ankles. Others say they have been subjected to threats of rape, sexual humiliation, and hurt to relatives. They were also denied food and water.