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EU seriously concerned by Uzbek sentences

16 Dec 2008 17:25:27 GMT
Source: Reuters

BRUSSELS, Dec 16 (Reuters) - The European Union said on Tuesday it was seriously concerned by the 10-year jail terms given to a journalist and a rights activist in Uzbekistan and called on the authorities to ensure they were not mistreated.

In October, the 27 EU states eased sanctions against the Central Asian country, which is seen as an important future source of EU gas imports.

"The European Union expresses today its serious concern after the recent judgments," a statement from the French EU presidency said, referring to the terms handed to journalist Salijon Abdurakhmanov and rights activist Agzam Turgunov.

It called on the Uzbek authorities to shed light on the charges and "to respect the obligation to protect the prisoners against ill treatment".

Abdurakhmanov, who criticised the state in his articles, was sentenced for drug possession and intent to sell drugs, days before the European Union dropped most sanctions against Uzbekistan.

The 58-year-old journalist, who has also worked for U.S.-based radio stations Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America in the past, denied all the charges.

Uzbekistan has cracked down on foreign media and local journalists since government troops suppressed an uprising in the town of Andizhan in May 2005, accusing them of bias.

In Andizhan, Uzbek officials said 187 people died during police action against armed Islamist militants, but independent witnesses said hundreds of unarmed civilians were killed.

The EU imposed the sanctions in response to Andizhan, but eased them in October citing improvement in the country's human rights record, a decision that angered rights groups. (editing by Elizabeth Piper)

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