Statement: Release Political Prisoner Dauletmurat Tadzhimuratov and Investigate New Torture Allegations 

Authorities in Uzbekistan must immediately release political prisoner Dauletmurat Tadzhimuratov and investigate his allegations of torture, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), Association for Human Rights in Central Asia (AHRCA), Freedom Now, Civil Rights Defenders, and the Human Rights Foundation said in a statement today. 

In a handwritten letter addressed to the United Nations and smuggled out of prison, Tadzhimuratov describes grueling prison conditions and several instances of torture at the hands of the Uzbekistani prison authorities. 

In the letter, Tadzhimuratov describes in particular how, on July 8, 2026, he was beaten by a group of five prison officials. According to him, the officials also dragged him along the floor and ordered him – a representative of the Karakalpak national minority – to declare that he is Uzbek. Following the beatings, Tadzhimuratov reported that he passed blood in his urine for a week. In the letter, he also describes another instance of torture: on September 9, 2026, a named prison official reportedly set aside his body camera and ordered two other officials to throw Tadzhimuratov down onto the ground and beat him. 

Tadzhimuratov was arrested following the July 2022 unrest in Karakalpakstan, when authorities violently suppressed mass protests against proposed constitutional amendments that would have stripped Karakalpakstan of its autonomous status and its right to secede from Uzbekistan by popular referendum. After the unrest, the Uzbek government scrapped the proposed changes to the text. In January 2023, Tadzhimuratov was given a 16-year prison sentence on politically motivated charges following an unfair trial. On May 1, 2026, he was sentenced to an additional 2.5 years’ imprisonment for allegedly disrupting the work of a penal institution. The court also labeled him a particularly dangerous repeat offender and ordered his transfer to a stricter-regime penal colony.

Tadzhimuratov’s allegations of torture and ill-treatment are corroborated by reports from his lawyer, Sergey Mayorov. In a YouTube video published on October 2, 2026, Mayorov relays information given to him by his client during a visit on September 18 this year. In the video, Mayorov describes having seen scars and marks on Tadzhimuratov’s body, allegedly stemming from the beatings on July 8. According to Mayorov, Tadzhimuratov was not provided with medical assistance following the beatings, despite repeated requests. 

Among other violations of Tadzhimuratov’s human rights, Mayorov lists the routine confiscation of medication and legal religious literature sent to Tadzhimuratov by his relatives, as well as poor sanitary conditions. According to Mayorov, the ventilation system in the crowded prison cell does not work, which is critical in the Qorovulbozor District where the penal colony is located, and temperatures regularly exceed 45 degrees Celsius in summer. The cell, which reportedly measures four by five metres, houses eight  prisoners including Tadzhimuratov. The other inmates allegedly comply  with prison authorities orders’ to monitor Tadzhimuratov and harass him in the cell. Mayorov also reported  that since Tadzhimuratov’s transfer to Penal Colony 7 in May 2026, he has only been allowed to visit the prison bath house twice.  

In its opinion published in late 2024, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) found Tadzhimuratov’s imprisonment to be arbitrary and in violation of Uzbekistan’s international human rights commitments, and called for his release. In January 2026, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, again called on Uzbekistan to release Tadzhimuratov and investigate his claims of torture. In its annual report to the 63rd session of the Human Rights Council, (A/HRC/63/33), WGAD noted that after each international engagement addressing Tadzhimuratov’s case—namely, the opinion and three allegation letters—authorities allegedly took escalating retaliatory action against him and his relatives.

The undersigned organizations call on the Uzbekistani authorities to immediately release Dauletmurat Tadzhimuratov, ensure his safety and provide him with all necessary medical care. The authorities should also launch an effective and independent investigation into reports that he has been subjected to torture and other ill-treatment, bring any officials responsible to justice in fair proceedings, and ensure that Tadzhimuratov is fully rehabilitated and receives appropriate compensation. We urge the international community to support these calls as a matter of priority.

Signatures

• Civil Rights Defenders
• The Norwegian Helsinki Committee
• International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR)
• Association for Human Rights in Central Asia (AHRCA)
• Freedom Now
• The Human Rights Foundation