Areopagitica: Jahongir Sidikov's story

This information comes from the campaign to stop the deportation of Jahongir Sidikov. Details of the Andijan massacre from an independent source can be found here.

Jahongir Sidikov’s story

Jahongir SIDIKOV was born on 10 June 1980 in the Zangiatin district of Tashkent province in Uzbekistan. He has a higher education in finance. He started his career in banking, getting his first job in the private bank “Pahtabank”. In September 1999 he arrived in London on a student visa and entered the City University, where he completed his B.Sc. in 2003. After completing his degree he got married in 2003. All his attempts to find a job failed.

The massacre of more then a thousand innocent people in the Uzbek city of Andijan on May 13, 2005 became a turning point for Jahongir. He started to be actively engaged in opposition activities and propaganda against the Uzbek regime. He became instrumental in organizing a demonstration to commemorate the first anniversary of the massacre on May 13, 2006 in front of Downing Street. He joined the ERK Democratic Party, an opposition party in exile.

In the meantime, in 2006, his marriage fell apart. On top of this he lost his Uzbek passport. He had to contact the Embassy of Uzbekistan. He was strongly advised by the Uzbek Embassy staff to return to Uzbekistan in order to obtain a new passport. However, returning to Uzbekistan at that stage was not an option. Jahongir was already known to the authorities in Uzbekistan for his opposition views. The protest in London on May 13, 2006 was filmed by a representative of the Uzbek Embassy in London and everyone who was there is now known to the authorities back home.

Jahongir was also recorded on video. His relatives have reported that law enforcement authorities summoned the neighbours of Jahongir Sidikov for questioning in Uzbekistan. During the meeting, they were asked to identify Sidikov in the video. Consequently, in the event of his return to his country of origin, it is unlikely that the special services will neglect his activities at the time of his residence in Great Britain. Reports of human rights defenders regularly confirm the continuing torture and ill-treatment of representatives of the democratic opposition and those with religious convictions.

Jahongir’s asylum claim has failed because the court didn’t believe that there is a genuine threat to his life in Uzbekistan. The court also didn’t believe that Jahongir will be subjected to torture and human rights abuses in Uzbekistan . The court doubted that the letters submitted by the leader of the ERK Democratic Party of Uzbekistan , Muhammad Salih and the President of the Association for Human Rights in Central Asia, Nadezhda Ataeva are genuine. The court refused to postpone the hearing so that former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, who was on a visit to Africa, could give evidence.

The campaign

We are asking people to write to or e-mail their MP requesting them to intervene urgently by asking the Home Office to stop the deportation of Jahongir to Uzbekistan. Deportation to Uzbekistan would put Jahongir in great danger of torture or death. Uzbekistan is an oppressive regime where any display of dissent is harshly repressed. There are more than 10 thousand political and religious prisoners in Uzbekistan, one of the world's most violent regimes.

Sample Letter:

Dear ,

We wish to draw your attention to the case of Uzbek refugee, Jahongir Sidikov, who is at grave risk of torture and death. He is currently in the deportation centre at the following address:

IRC Colnbrook

Colnbrook By Pass

Harmondsworth

West Drayton

Middlesex

UB8 0HB

These are his case details and references provided by various authorities:

Home Office ref. - S2185191

Port ref. - BGT/188094

DMS ref. - 67823

Jahongir Siddikov is a member of the Uzbekistan opposition party, ERK Democratic party. He is a political activist in exile. Uzbekistan is the world’s most oppressive dictatorship. No opposition to the regime is permitted inside the country. There is no freedom of speech and no free media.
Any form of dissent is severely suppressed in this country, and according to the international human rights organizations, there are at least 10 thousand political and religious prisoners in jail. Torture is a standard procedure in Uzbekistan.
If deported to Uzbekistan, Jahongir Siddikov is facing prison, torture and very possibly death.