Uzbekistan: Closed Trials Commence in High-Profile Criminal Cases

Trials have begun in Uzbekistan for up to 70 defendants accused in connection with the murder of Hasan Asadov, an Interior Ministry anti-terrorism and anti-corruption officer, and the attempted murder of Anvar-qori Tursunov, Tashkent's chief imam.

According to human rights observers, authorities are keen to conduct the trials in absolute secrecy and the defendants have not been provided with legal representation. "The number of people charged in connection with these crimes is more than 150. Seventy people were arrested in Tashkent, around 60 people were arrested in Syrdarya and about 20 people were arrested last summer," a source told EurasiaNet on January 21.

"Nobody knows where the trial is being held or where the defendants are being held," the source added.

Tursunov was stabbed outside his home on July 31, 2009. The attack was preceded by the murder of Abror Abrorov, his assistant at the Kukeldash mosque, on July 16.

Hasan Asadov, who was investigating the crimes, was shot five times at point blank range in his apartment on August 9.

Initially, Uzbek authorities named a key figure in the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) as the chief suspect. However Shaukat Makhmudov was subsequently killed in a shoot-out on August 29. A number of Makhmudov's associates were arrested following the gun battle, but it is unclear whether they were charged in connection with the murder of Asadov, the attack on Tursunov, or if they are currently facing trail.

Makhmudov had previously been implicated in the February 1999 bombings in Tashkent which killed 16 people.