The Government of Uzbekistan must guarantee the safety of human rights defender and lawyer Dawletmurat Tajimuratov and release him, an independent human rights expert said today.
“I am gravely concerned by new allegations of torture and ill-treatment against Dawletmurat Tajimuratov and his continued detention, which the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found arbitrary in November 2024,” said Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders.
Tajimuratov has advocated for the rights of the Karakalpak ethnic minority. In the summer of 2022, he opposed proposed constitutional amendments that would have stripped the Republic of Karakalpakstan of its autonomy and right to secede from Uzbekistan based on a referendum. He has been detained since 4 July 2022 and is now serving a 16-year sentence, handed down on 31 January 2023 and upheld on appeal.
“It is deeply concerning that, over a year after the Working Group’s opinion was adopted, not only has he not been released, but new allegations of serious human rights abuses have emerged,” Lawlor said.
On 20 November 2025, during a formal assembly at the penal colony No. 11 in Navoi, where Tajimuratov is serving his sentence, the first deputy head reportedly publicly insulted Tajimuratov, referring to him in degrading terms before prisoners and staff. In protest, Tajimuratov is said to have thrown his boots at the official. He was reportedly restrained, forced to walk barefoot to the colony headquarters, and beaten along the way. At the headquarters, he was allegedly subjected to ill-treatment, including being made to stand barefoot on concrete while multiple buckets of cold water mixed with lime were poured over him.
On 21 November, he was reportedly placed in a cold punishment cell for 15 days. During this period, he was allegedly subjected to further violence, reportedly causing him to lose consciousness. According to some reports, he was later threatened with further retaliation.
In addition, safety standards are reportedly not observed during Tajimuratov’s work in a lime workshop and he has reportedly been denied rest on Sundays.
“These allegations must be promptly, thoroughly, and impartially investigated. If confirmed, they may amount to violations of the absolute prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, and other fundamental rights,” the Special Rapporteur said.
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