…green card, passport, few hundreds of T…

Uzbekistan: The opposition leader Bakhodir Choriev is expelled from Uzbekistan

Bakhodir Choriev, the emigrant and the leader of Birdamlik (Solidarity) Uzbek opposition movement, which had recently returned home, was sent back to USA. The Voice of Freedom web page reports that last Saturday he was delivered to Tashkent international airport by the law enforcement officers of Uzbekistan, where he took a plane to the United States.

According to Dilorom Iskhakova, the leader of Birdamlik branch in Uzbekistan, informed the agency that Bakhodir Choriev arrived in USA and she talked to him over the phone. The dissident shared that anonymous special service officers invited him to Tashkent to return his personal belongings, had talks in the public prosecutor’s office and then he was delivered to the airport.

Dilorom also informed that the Birdamlik leader had open date ticket to the states while the law enforcement officers booked the next available flight. They also promised that next time they will take stricter measures against him.

We reported earlier that on October 16, 2009 Bakhodir Choriev, the leader of Birdamlik movement, unexpectedly returned to Uzbekistan after five years of stay in USA. He announced that he was going to continue open political activity at home and organize the congress of the movement, scheduled long ago.

Immediately after his arrival in Tashkent Bakhodir Choriev faced problems: his computer, green card, passport, few hundreds of T-shits with Birdamlik harakati (Birdamlik Movement) sign, to be handed out to the participants of the upcoming congress, were all taken away. After a long conversation, the law enforcement officers recommended the opposition leader to leave the capital city and remain in native Shahrisabs (in the Kashkadaria Oblast in the south of the republic) for the duration of stay.

Despite the warnings, Choriev visited Tashkent to meet the investigator and then travelled to few other oblasts of the country; however, this resulted in troubles for civil society leaders. Thus, after meeting the Birdamlik leader Djizak-based human rights activist Bakhtier Khamraev and his colleague Mamir Azimov were beaten, the Voice of Freedom said.

On November 24 the opposition leader even tried to organize the national meeting of the Birdamlik members in the city of Shahrisabs. According to Choriev, the attempt did not achieve its goal: it was attended only by the members from Kashkadaria Oblast. The rest members were blocked by police outside the oblast.