The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has found the Government of Uzbekistan violated international human rights law by detaining journalist and activist Dauletmurat Tazhimuratov. Responding to legal submissions filed by Freedom Now, the Human Rights Foundation, and the law firm Proskauer Rose LLP, the UN concluded that Tazhimuratov was wrongfully imprisoned for exercising his right to freedom of opinion and expression.
“We welcome the Working Group’s determination that Dauletmurat Tazhimuratov has been wrongfully detained in violation of his fundamental rights,” said Freedom Now’s Legal Officer Adam Lhedmat. “It has been nearly three years since Tazhimuratov was arrested for peacefully expressing his opinion on the rights of the Karakalpak minority. We call on the government to abide by the Working Group’s decision to release Tazhimuratov immediately and provide him with reparations for his wrongful detention. We also call on the government to investigate allegations of mistreatment he has suffered while in custody.”
Dauletmurat Tazhimuratov is a Karakalpak lawyer, journalist, and human rights defender who is serving a 16-year sentence for his activism and the role he played in the 2022 Karakalpak protests.
Tazhimuratov has spent much of his career highlighting injustices faced by Karakalpak citizens under the rule of the central Uzbekistan government. He has exposed – and brought to public attention – many human rights violations in his capacity as editor of the El Khyzmetinde (“At People’s Service”) newspaper, and on his public YouTube channel. He has also routinely defended in court those impacted by such abuses.
In June 2022, the government of Uzbekistan proposed a referendum on constitutional amendments that would revoke the right of Karakalpakstan, a semi-autonomous region, to secede and become an independent state. In response, Tazhimuratov applied to hold a referendum on full independence for Karakalpakstan. Tazhimuratov’s chief goal in submitting the application was to promote discourse at the highest levels of the Uzbek government around the government’s proposed amendments and to vocalize his objections in a diplomatic manner and in manner consistent with the laws of Uzbekistan.
Following the submission of the application, on July 1, 2022, Tazhimuratov delivered a public speech regarding Karakalpakstan’s autonomy. Immediately afterwards, Tazhimuratov and his two brothers – neither of whom were involved in the referendum, or had spoken publicly on the issues concerning the referendum – were arrested and forcibly removed from their home. Thereafter, peaceful protests opposing the government’s proposed constitutional amendments gained further traction. However, these protests were not allowed to continue for long – on July 2, 2022, one day after the Tazhimuratov’s aforementioned speech, the Uzbek police began to suppress the protests violently.
On July 4, 2022 Tazhimuratov was arrested again by the Uzbek National Security Service in Nukus. Allegedly, this arrest was for his role in leading protests to incite the secession of Karakalpakstan from Uzbekistan. However, no warrant had been submitted for Tazhimuratov’s arrest until one full day after his arrest. In two separate trials related to the events in Karakalpakstan, a Bukhara court in January and March convicted 61 defendants, including Tazhimuratov, on “rioting” and other charges, and sentenced them to up to 16 years in prison.
The conditions and treatment of Tazhimuratov while in detention have been objectively cruel and inhumane. While imprisoned he has been denied access to adequate food, water and medical attention necessary for maintaining basic human health, denied access to visitation rights, and placed in solitary confinement in maximum security prisons. In early March 2025, Tazhimuratov detailed further abuse, including being subjected to beatings by other inmates.