The trial of 39 defendants in the case of protests in Karakalpakstan was held in the Bukhara Regional Court: 28 defendants were sentenced to terms from 5 to 11 years in prison, 11 were released in the courtroom on parole. This was reported by the Uzbek service of Radio Liberty with reference to the press service of the court.
Oralbai Dosnazarov received the longest term – 11 years in prison, 10.5 years – Omirbek Kurbanov, 9 years – Dauranbek Ramanov, 8 years – Rustam Dosymbetov, Nuratdiyin Khabipov, Zamirbek Tadzhimuratov, Azamat Allanazarov, Asylbek Omirzakov and Sharapat Ashirbekov.
The prosecutor had earlier requested that 37 people be sentenced to imprisonment for a term of 5 to 12 years, and that two defendants be restricted.
Earlier it was reported that the detainees were accused of organizing mass riots, seven – of distributing materials containing a threat to public safety. Seven more detainees were accused of causing grievous bodily harm to two or more persons, four of illegal possession of weapons, one of the defendants of robbery with violence.
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At the end of January, the first trial of 22 protesters in Karakalpakstan ended in Bukhara. Journalist Dauletmurat Tazhimuratov, whom the investigation considered the main organizer of the protests, received 16 years in prison. The court also sentenced 15 participants in mass protests to prison terms ranging from three to eight and a half years. Other defendants in the Karakalpakstan case, including Lolagul Kallykhanova, a journalist and founder of the Makan.uz website, received suspended sentences or sentences related to the restriction of freedom. The court also canceled for them a measure of restraint in the form of detention.
In early February, Polat Shamshetov, the son of the first and only president of Karakalpakstan, died in a pre-trial detention center in Uzbekistan. His death came just five days after Shamshetov was sentenced to six years in prison for participating in the Nukus protests.
Polat himself insisted that he did not take part in the protests, but simply walked along the street. The preliminary cause of death is a heart attack, but many residents of the region do not believe in this version. The parliamentary commission to investigate the protests in Nukus will study the circumstances of Shamshetov’s death.
Protests in Nukus, the capital of Karakalpakstan, began on July 1 over draft constitutional amendments, including a proposal to remove from the Basic Law provisions on Karakalpakstan’s sovereignty and the right of its people to secede based on the results of a general referendum. On July 2, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev arrived in Nukus, he promised not to change the articles of the Constitution regarding the autonomy of the republic, “if the Karakalpak people are dissatisfied.” A few days later, the Uzbek Parliament decided to retain the status of Karakalpakstan’s sovereignty in the new draft Constitution.
According to the Prosecutor General’s Office of Uzbekistan, at least 18 people became victims of the riots. According to the department, all of them received serious injuries incompatible with life. In addition, during the riots another 243 people were injured, including 38 law enforcement officers, 516 protesters were detained.
What is Karakalpakstan and why mass protests began there:
