Uzbekistan: Decade-long wait for justice for victims of Central Asia..
The killing of hundreds of protesters by Uzbekistani security forces in May 2005 must be independently investigated and the ongoing persecution of those connected to the unrest must end, Amnesty International said on the 10th anniversary of the Andizhan killings.
A decade after security forces indiscriminately gunned down mostly peaceful demonstrators, including women and children, in the city of Andizhan, scores of men and women have been unlawfully imprisoned or live in fear of prosecution whilst anyone who raises the issue in the country faces
harassment or attack.
"It is time to lift the veil of fear and official secrecy that descended on the Andizhan killings even before the blood was dry on the streets. Instead of bringing those responsible for these killings to account, the Uzbekistani authorities have relentlessly persecuted those it suspects of
involvement in the protests, torturing them, trying them unfairly and imprisoning them unlawfully," said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International Director for Europe and Central Asia.
"Governments in Europe and the USA have continued to turn a blind eye to this and other appalling human rights abuses in Uzbekistan, seemingly for fear of upsetting a strategic ally. Whilst an independent international investigation into the killings is long overdue, it is not too late to end
impunity and ensure justice and reparation for the victims of Andizhan."