Abdullo Tojiboy-ugli and Nuritdin Zhumaniyazov came to picket the office demanding freedom for Fahritdin Tilloyev.

	Activists protest outside the Interior Ministry building

09.10.12 20:56

Picket in support of arrested rights defender dispersed in Tashkent

A picket in support of a member of a group suggesting the establishment of an Uzbek trade union of day labourers, Fahritdin Tilloyev, who has been recently arrested in Surhandarya Region, has been dispersed outside the Interior Ministry office in Tashkent.

In the morning of 5 October, Tashkent-based human rights activists Abdullo Tojiboy-ugli and Nuritdin Zhumaniyazov came to picket the office demanding freedom for Fahritdin Tilloyev.

“The picket lasted no longer than 20 minutes, and then we were detained by policemen who took us to the Yakkasaray district police department,” Tojiboy-ugli has said.

Protesters were threatened with multimillion fines and kept for over two hours before being allowed to go.

Future trade union

The 40-year-old Fahritdin Tilloyev, an Erk party activist, was arrested in early October when he was travelling from Tashkent to the town of Boysun in Surhandaryo Region to visit his parents.

According to unconfirmed reports, Tilloyev was detained and put in custody for 15 days on charges of hooliganism and insult.

Tojiboy-ugli said that according to rumours from Surhandaryo he had a skirmish with a woman either at a wedding party or in a bazaar.

“I am sure that the calm and reserved Tilloyev, who treats women politely, has fallen victim to a provocation to prevent him from the organisation of an independent trade union of day labourers, or mardikors,” Tojiboy-ugli said.

Tojiboy-ugli suspects that Tilloyev tried to discuss the future trade union in Surhandaryo for which he had to pay.

Authorities don’t need this trade union

The idea to set up a trade union of day labourers was suggested by Uzbek human rights activists two years ago.

“First I wanted to create a trade union of entrepreneurs, but then I decided that day labourers need one much more,” Tojiboy-ugli said.

In his opinion, millions remain unemployed in Uzbekistan and a lot of people come from regions to Tashkent hoping to find any job and to add to a huge army of day labourers “who are absolutely unprotected from lawlessness”.

Day labourers are deceived by employers, deprived by policemen of their belongings and ignored by officials. In addition, there is no law protecting the rights of day labourers.

The first attempt to create this kind of trade union failed when Tojiboy-ugli came to the Kuylyuk market labour exchange and started explaining the basics of the constitution to day labourers in April last year.

Then Tojiboy-ugli was detained by police officers before he had time to explain the need to set up a trade union.

“But two months ago I found like-minded people, Fahritdin Tilloyev and Nuritdin Zhumaniyazov, who warmly welcomed my idea to create an independent trade union of day labourers,” Tojiboy-ugli said.

Tojiboy-ugli’s idea has been utterly opposed by the authorities so far. They do not need people who they can rob easily to receive some protection.

But the human rights activist firmly intends to create a trade union of day labourers and register it with the Justice Ministry in the near future.

“Not only will we protect day labourers in every specific case of violations of their rights, but will also propose legislative initiatives,” Tojiboy-ugli shared his plans.

Uznews.net

 

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