A human rights activist Umida Niyazova, who was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment on May 1, was finally released yesterday, May 8. Umida Niyazova was accused of illegal border crossing, smuggling, and advocating for the unrest in the country with the help of foreign funding. Niyazova pleaded guilty only on one point – illegally crossing the border.

The whole process began in December 21, 2006, when Umida Niyaziva was flying back to Uzbekistan from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The custom services of the Tashkent airport found her laptop and flash drive suspicious as they contained materials provided by the Human Rights Watch, where Niyazova works, articles from the Internet, photos, and interviews with witnesses of Andijon events. Custom officials immediately called for an expert from the Mass Communications Monitoring Center of the Uzbek Communications and Information Agency. Later, after many hours of interrogation, they found electronic materials to be “disastrous for the Uzbek society, as they advocated for religious extremism and appealed to overthrow the constitutional regime with the help of foreign support.� Umida Niyazova was released, but her passport and her laptop were confiscated. Later, realizing that the process can get complicated, Niyazova had to illegally cross the border and go to the neighboring Kyrgyzstan. Soon law enforcement officials had informed Niyazova via her lawyer that all accusations had been turned down and she could come to Uzbekistan. Umida Niyazova was arrested in Uzbek-Kyrgyz border in January 22, 2007 on her way back to Uzbekistan.

The trial on Umida Niyazova’s case beat any records on the length of court processes – it began in April 30 and finished the next day, May 1. Moreover, it began unexpectedly – no one was informed about the trial. Even the lawyer of Niyazova was informed about it on the day of trial. In the court, Niyazova was found guilty and sentenced for seven years of imprisonment. Later, on May 8, the court of appeals has reduced the imprisonment term to three years of suspended sentence, during which Niyazova has to be at home every day from 10:00 pm to 6:00 am.

The release of a human rights activist coincides with the time when EU is due to consider the lifting of sanctions imposed on Uzbekistan due to the undemocratic acts during the Andijon events where hundreds of innocent civilians died. Just a coincidence? I don’t think so. The EU countries have also been debating over the arrest of Niyazova and other human rights activists in Uzbekistan, saying that jailing of these people is intolerable and discriminatory. Of course, it is good that Niyazova is released, but again we witnessed the real corrupt face of the Uzbek court system, saw that there is no justice as government imprisons and releases people on its will.