| 28.04.2006 Case UZB 011105.1 Sentencing Geneva, 28 April 2006 The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Uzbekistan. New InformationThe International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by a reliable source of the sentencing of Mr. Sanjar Umarov, leader of the Sunshine Uzbekistan opposition movement, to seven years and eight months of imprisonment by the Tashkent Court of Appeal on 13 April 2006. Mr. Umarov was sentenced for economic crimes, including ‘large-scale embezzlement’, money laundering and tax evasion. Moreover, he has to pay $8 million in fines and is forbidden to undertake any business activities until three years after his release. According to the information received, Mr. Sanjar Umarov was sentenced by the Tashkent City Court to 14,5 years imprisonment on 6 March 2006. On 13 April 2006 this verdict was shortened by the Tashkent Court of Appeal to 10,5 years, which becomes shorted to seven years and eight months with the amnesty applied. It is reported by national and international observers to the trial, that the health situation of Mr. Umarov has strongly deteriorated since his arrest and it is feared that he might have been injected with psychotropic drugs. OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Umarov. Brief reminder of the situationAccording to the information received, Mr. Umarov was arrested on Saturday 22nd October, charged with stealing an undisclosed sum of money through his business dealings. When his lawyer went to visit him on Tuesday 25th October he found his client in his cell naked on the floor of his cell, his hands covering his face. He did not respond to his name. His lawyer wrote “that I cannot conduct any interview with him in his current state, and that he needs immediate medical attention and expertise concerning his current condition and illness.” Mr. Umarov had reportedly passed a message from jail to his supporte |