Sins of Fathers Pinned on Uzbek Sons

We have told you about Tashkent’s drug-planting tricks against pesky activists. In Uzbekistan, it seems, their children should suffer too.

A source close to activist lawyer Habibulla “Oybek” Ilmuratov has told EurasiaNet.org that Ilmuratov’s son, Vladislav, was sacked from his job in the Yangiyul town tax inspectorate on November 1 as part of a campaign against his father.

The source said: “Vladislav’s boss called him up and politely said, ‘I’m being pressured, I’m sorry but you should understand. I’m going to sack you, otherwise our organization will have problems. As a taxman, I’m also worried you may be set up and someone may plant something on you.’

“This has been done to deprive Ilmuratov of any source of money to pay for his lawyers,” the source said. Vladislav, 27, has worked for three and a half years without any complaints from his superiors, but was sent on “vacation” when the charges were brought against his father this summer.

Though the activist is already in the dock, the authorities have beefed up the campaign against him: Vladislav’s very own tax department is now pressuring the elder Ilmuratov’s accountant into admitting tax violations, promising her legal amnesty, the source said.