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Uzbekistan|politics|October 4, 2017 / 12:47 PM
Human rights activist Azam Farmonov released from prison in Uzbekistan

AKIPRESS.COM - Human rights activist Azam Farmonov, 39, was set free on Tuesday, the United States Embassy in Tashkent said in a statement on October 3.

Farmonov was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2006 on charges of extortion which other activists called fabricated. His term was extended by five more years in 2015.

Farmonov’s early release followed the freeing of several other prominent political prisoners jailed under President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s predecessor, Islam Karimov, Reuters reported.

“The United States welcomes the release of human rights defender Azam Farmonov.  The news follows the release of Muhammad Bekjanov, Murod Juraev, Erkin Musaev, Jamshid Karimov, and other long-held prisoners of conscience.  We applaud these positive steps and hope they signal future releases and a more open approach to civil society.  Multiple international human rights groups have highlighted the long incarceration of Azam Farmonov on dubious charges in 2006, and the UN Commission against Torture in 2013 called for Farmonov’s release.  The United States acknowledges President Mirzoyoyev’s commitment to strengthening human rights protections in Uzbekistan, as stated in his address at the United Nations, and we look forward to sustained stability and progress towards broad political, social, and human rights reforms.,” the U.S. embassy said.

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