Following a visit to Uzbekistan by Diego Garcia-Sayan, UN Special Rapporteur, a report was published on the independence of judges and lawyers. The report was presented at the 44th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva (Switzerland). The Uzbek authorities hastened to interpret the document in favor of, as they believe, the successful promotion of judicial reform in Uzbekistan.
In Tashkent, the measures taken are considered “as positive steps towards the creation of a truly independent and impartial justice system.” Mr. Garcia-Sayan did not categorically assess the changes, emphasizing in the report that “much remains to be done to ensure that the judiciary is truly independent from other branches of government and that judges, prosecutors, and lawyers are free to exercise their professional activities without any undue interference or pressure. ”
Mr. Garcia-Sayan paid an official visit to Uzbekistan on September 19-25, 2019. He met with lawyers, activists, and government officials. As ACCA previously posted, during one of these conversations with specialists and representatives of civil society, lawyer Mayorov expressed an unpleasant point of view for the authorities, in sharp contrast with the official one. He described the current judicial system as follows: “To maintain their position, judges openly support the charges and agree with the position of prosecutors. The lack of independence can be traced throughout the judicial vertical: from district courts to the Supreme Court, ”said the human rights activist.
The text of his last year’s appeal to the special rapporteur contained ten points of refutation of “that a stable political system has been created in Uzbekistan that meets the criteria of democracy …”. This is a quote from the communiqué after the special rapporteur’s conversation with Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov.
Sergei Mayorov then directly accused the State Security Service and the Prosecutor General of ignoring complaints and petitions. He emphasized that the lack of equality of arms is particularly evident in criminal and administrative proceedings.
The report reflected the reaction of the special rapporteur to six pages of Mayorov’s reasoned accusations of the judicial system of corruption, limitless cruelty, when the role of a helpless extras is assigned to the lawyer. “According to several sources, the wide and noticeable presence of security agencies in the daily life of Uzbek citizens and state institutions has a special impact on the work of the prosecutor’s office,” the special rapporteur said. As a result of this, the independence of judges in making decisions in cases they consider based on impartiality, facts, and following the laws, de facto boils down to supporting the prosecutor’s proposals in the indictment. ”
The Special Rapporteur noted the facts of the persecution of representatives of civil society who, after meeting with him, felt pressure in various forms. Such actions, he believes, constitute acts of intimidation and reprisals against those who seek to cooperate or have collaborated with the United Nations in the field of human rights.
Dozens of recommendations with the conclusions of the special rapporteur so far testify of the illusions of the authorities in reforming the existing and creating a new independent judicial system.
Leave feedback about this