Ganijon Mamathanov who is facing…

Uznews.net – Ganijon Mamathanov who is facing trial is one of the last human rights activists who has been fighting for legality and justice in the Fergana valley until now. When he is sentenced, there will be no-one to do this, people who know him say.

His trial continued in Fergana Region’s Ohunbabayev District court on 23 November. Mamathanov, 58, has been in custody since 9 October when he was detained on charges of extorting money from farmers, which he denies.

The activist’s statement that the charges were trumped up was indirectly confirmed by witnesses who had to give evidence against him at the trial on 16 November.

Fergana-based activist Abdumalom Ergashev said that one of the witnesses, farmer Tahir Suleymanov, had admitted that Mamathanov had not demanded 4.5 million sums ($3,000) from him.

The matter was about concluding a contract on Mamathanov’s legal services to assist in returning the farmer’s land he lost last year when the authorities enlarged farmers by merging small farms with bigger ones.

Another farmer, Ruzimat Usmanov, who alleged that Mamathanov demanded 6 million sums ($4,000) from him, did not show up at the trial altogether. Moreover, Usmanov took part in detaining the activist by fixing a meeting with him and planting 500,000 sums ($330) on him.

Because of Usmanov’s absence the trail was postponed until 23 November when the judge demanded prosecutors ensure the attendance of one of their main witnesses at the trial.

The developments at the hearings show that this case was carefully set up by the authorities, prominent Uzbek human rights activist Mutabar Tajibayeva said. “I know Ganijon and I did not believe for a second that he could extort money and the hearings proved this,” she said.

She explained his detention as a campaign by the regime of Uzbek President Islam Karimov to mop up the country from politically active and freethinking people. “It is Mamathanov’s turn now because there is practically no-one left,” she added.

A traditional media campaign to discredit Ganijon Mamathanov on the press-uz.info website, which is used for these purposes, preceded his arrest. Two days before his arrest, a certain Sarvar Rashidov published an article entitled “Positive is alien to Radio Ozodlik”, alleging that the activist spread lies about problems with plastic cards in Fergana through Radio Liberty.

Tajibayeva also pointed to the fact that Islam Karimov visited Fergana on 14 October and his detention aimed to remove critics from the region ahead of the president’s visit.

Tajibayeva, who is familiar with Uzbekistan’s justice and penal systems, doubted that Mamathanov would be acquitted because human rights activists were not detained by mistake in Uzbekistan and when detained they were not released until they were not fully broken morally and physically.

“But we should do everything possible to defend Mamathanov,” Tajibayeva said. “This is the last courageous person in the Fergana valley and there is no-one left – he is like the last of the Mohicans.