”I used to be taken to a darkish room with no home windows, the place 4 males — two of them in police uniforms — threatened me, saying: ’We’ll kill you right here and nobody will know.'”
That is how a college pupil from Karakalpakstan, an autonomous area in Uzbekistan’s northwest that was the scene of unprecedented protests in 2022, described the threats he mentioned he acquired throughout detention.
The younger man — whose title is being withheld attributable to safety issues — informed RFE/RL that he was quickly detained after calling jailed protester Dauletmurat Tajimuratov a ”hero” on social media.
The coed is amongst dozens who’ve been arrested, fined, or expelled from universities for the reason that mass anti-government protests erupted in Karakalpakstan’s capital, Nukus, in July 2022, based on activists.
Three college students informed RFE/RL that that they had acquired written warnings from the police. They mentioned the authorities additionally threatened retaliation towards their households if they didn’t cooperate.
Karakalpak authorities officers didn’t reply to RFE/RL’s request for remark.
The protests have been sparked by the Uzbek authorities’ determination to draft constitutional amendments that will have eliminated the two million-strong area’s authorized proper to carry a referendum on secession from Uzbekistan.
Tajimuratov was among the many 1000’s of protesters who overtly opposed the transfer and took half within the rallies. In 2023, Tajimuratov was sentenced to 16 years in jail after he was convicted of undermining the constitutional order of the nation. He has denied the cost.
Tashkent deserted the draft constitutional modifications after the protests erupted. The authorities mentioned not less than 21 individuals have been killed within the unrest.
Even after the tip of the dayslong demonstrations, the federal government has continued to crack down on supporters of the protests, based on native activists and residents.
’We’re Watching You’
A Karakalpak activist shared audio with RFE/RL that he mentioned was recorded throughout a gathering between college professors and college students at Karakalpak State College in Nukus.
Assembly organizers might be heard warning college students to not assist anti-government protests and warning college students that their actions on Telegram and different social media have been being watched intently.
A lady who was introduced as legislation professor Raihon Saekeyeva informed the viewers that a number of college students had been punished over their political beliefs. ”A feminine pupil has been expelled from the philology school and was sentenced to 10-day administrative detention for her publish on Telegram that learn: ’Lets proceed in the identical spirit, when will we begin?’ One other pupil from the physics school shared comparable feedback,” she mentioned.
”[We have established that] a first-year pupil from the legislation school subscribed to [opposition] Telegram channels. There are additionally college students from the colleges of chemistry and expertise,” the professor mentioned, earlier than concluding, ”The variety of college students who’ve joined these Telegram channels has now elevated.”
The assembly organizers additionally ordered college students to not assist Tajimuratov, whom they referred to as a ”political provocateur and fraudster.” The viewers was proven a brief video condemning Tajimuratov.
No less than 10 college students have been expelled from the economics school since September over their social-media posts, based on a Telegram channel created by that school’s college students.
RFE/RL couldn’t independently confirm the authenticity of the recording.
The college didn’t reply to RFE/RL’s request for remark.
Elevated Stress
Outstanding Karakalpak activist Aqylbek Muratbai informed RFE/RL on February 1 that dozens of scholars had been summoned for questioning, sentenced to administrative arrest, fined, or expelled from universities when ”the federal government stress on younger individuals in Karakalpakstan intensified after the protests.”
In accordance with Muratbai, who lives in neighboring Kazakhstan, college students in Karakalpakstan are being focused for ”sharing or merely liking a remark” on social media that the authorities deem a risk to the state. ”A feminine pupil was given a suspended five-year jail sentence for writing feedback on a pro-opposition [Telegram] channel,” he mentioned.
He mentioned some college students had acquired fines of as much as $160, a big sum in Uzbekistan, the place the common month-to-month wage of state workers is about $360.
RFE/RL obtained a replica of an official letter that was despatched by the police to a Nukus pupil, who was accused of ”posting feedback on separatist matters” that promoted ”discontent” and ”protest concepts.” The letter warned the scholar of potential legal legal responsibility for his actions.
”I’ve acquired many such witness accounts from Karakalpakstan,” Muratbai mentioned. ”They share copies of police letters or court docket rulings, however the college students are too afraid to talk to the media overtly, given the threats they face.”