Uzbekistan Embassy
41 Holland Park
London
W11 3RP

17th December 2008

 

 

Re: Uzbek Regime’s Arrest and Sexual Molestation of Female Political Opponents

Dear Ambassador Otabek Akbarov,

We write with regard to the recent detention of 28 Muslim women for alleged ‘religious extremism’. Some were alleged to be members of Hizb ut-Tahrir or related to members of Hizb ut-Tahrir. It is reported that following their arrest, they were filmed for a pornographic video and warned that similar
videos would be shot if they did not confess to a crime. Family members have also asserted that these female detainees were tortured in custody in order to force confessions.

Such an action would be entirely consistent with the Uzbek regime’s brutal campaign against Muslims who speak out against its tyranny and oppression. It is a regime now infamous around the world for boiling alive its political opponents. It is clear that the ongoing repression of political dissent in Uzbekistan continues unabated since the Andijan massacres under the now overused guise of ‘fighting terrorism’.

These disgusting reports of sexual molestation and blackmail will once again highlight to the world the depth of depravity that the Uzbek regime will sink to in order to conceal its inability to intellectually
challenge any ideological opposition to its authority. Its legacy has always been one of fighting thoughts with arrest and abuse. The actions reflect a weak and desperate government, unable to quell the ever rising tide of support and unstoppable calls for the return of the Shariah and the Khilafah state in the region.

Your regime has a long track record of arbitrary arrest and mistreatment of Muslim women who have courageously stood firm against tyranny and injustice. Human Rights Watch has reported that hundreds of female members of Hizb ut-Tahrir have over the last few years been arrested, beaten, harassed, imprisoned, tortured and raped by Uzbek security services simply for distributing a leaflet, or to elicit false confessions from male relatives who are also members of the party. Many have been imprisoned on trumped-up charges and by militiamen planting material evidence in their homes and handbags.

Many are mothers whose babies and young children have been torn from their arms in order to incarcerate them. These female prisoners of conscience have been imprisoned under Article 159 of the Uzbek Criminal Code (infringement on the state order) and are treated more harshly by wardens than other inmates incarcerated for severe and violent criminal activity. Their headscarves and Qur’ans are taken away from them. The Western governments that you seek as your allies have lost their moral authority amongst their own people and the world over: preaching freedom, human rights, the rule of law, democracy and women’s rights, yet they embrace dictatorships such as yours. Some have even outsourced torture to your prisons in order to extract ‘intelligence’ as part of their war on terror. Now they choose to ignore the sexual abuse of women in countries that are their allies – the degradation and humiliation of women, a fair price to pay it seems to protect their political interests. It is now self-evident that millions in Central Asia and across the Muslim world yearn to see the return of the Islamic Khilafah over their lands. The establishment of the Khilafah state is an inevitable fact that only those who bury their heads in the sand choose to ignore. It is a state that will liberate the region from dictatorships, safeguard the honour of women and end the collusion with foreign powers.

Do you think that the abuse of female members and supporters of Hizb ut-Tahrir – or people arbitrarily labeled as such by your regime – will extinguish the fire that burns in the hearts of these women for the establishment of the Khilafah state? Do you think that for a moment their imprisonment and animalistic treatment by the Uzbek authorities will weaken their resolve, determination and commitment to their work or that of other Muslim women in the region? Do you think that they fear the desperate actions of a desperate ruler more than they fear their Creator?

If so you are gravely mistaken. Despite the brutal treatment of the female members of Hizb ut-Tahrir at the hands of the Uzbek regime, despite the arrest of their family members, despite lengthy prison sentences, female membership of the party grows in strength with every passing day. The actions of your government have and will prove futile in silencing the voices for the return of the Khilafah state. Your actions will not be hidden from the world. They are actions that will be considered repugnant by the measure of any decent human being who hears of them, Muslim or non-Muslim. These women do
not stand alone in their prison cells. There are thousands across the world who will expose their plight, speak on their behalf and expose the debased actions of your regime with no weariness, with hardened resolve, even when the throats become sore.

Take heed, the honour of women may be low in the eyes of your regime, seen simply as another tool with which to fight the resurgence of Islam. But the status of the woman is held in high esteem within Islam. We, the female members of Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain demand the immediate release of these women and all political prisoners guilty of no crime.

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُحَادُّونَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ أُوْلَئِكَ فِي الأَذَلِّينَ

كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَأَغْلِبَنَّ أَنَا وَرُسُلِي إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَوِيٌّ عَزِيزٌ

“Those who oppose Allah and His Prophets will be amongst those most humiliated. Allah has decreed: ‘My Prophets and I will be victorious’: for Allah is All‐Powerful All‐Mighty.”
[TMQ Al‐Mujadilah 58: 20‐21]

Dr. Nazreen Nawaz
Women’s Media Representative
Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain