Uzbek Journalist Pleads Guilty to Sodomy Charges
The Advocate,
August 12, 2003
An Uzbek journalist charged with sodomy has pleaded
guilty at his closed trial and dismissed his lawyers, according to rights
activists who alleged Monday that his actions were the result of pressure from
the authorities. Ruslan Sharipov said at a hearing Friday that he was ready to
admit his guilt on all charges and apologize to President Islam Karimov and
other officials for criticizing them in his articles, according to Surat
Ikramov, an activist who has been helping defend Sharipov in court. Sharipov
dismissed Ikramov and his lawyer, Ravil Gayazov, and also requested that his
mother not be allowed to attend hearings. Sharipov earlier maintained his
innocence and said the case against him was fabricated. The trial began July
16.
Sharipov, 25, a journalist who leads an independent civil
rights group that focuses on protecting media freedom, was arrested May 26 and
accused of having sex with another man, having sex with minors, and running a
brothel.
Sharipov, who is openly gay, faces up to three years in
prison if convicted under a Soviet-era law banning sodomy that is still part
of the Uzbek criminal code. If found guilty on the other charges, Sharipov
could face another five years.
International human rights groups have strongly protested
Sharipov’s arrest, calling it politically motivated persecution. A Human
Rights Watch researcher in Uzbekistan, Matilda Bogner, said Monday that she
believes authorities either tortured Sharipov or threatened him with torture
to make him plead guilty. Sharipov said in earlier letters from prison that he
had been under heavy psychological pressure.
Ikramov said that Sharipov told his lawyers after
Friday’s hearing that he had been forced to give up attempts to defend
himself out of consideration for his own security and the security of his
mother and lawyers.
[Home] [World] [Uzbekistan]
