Sanjar Umarov
Submitted by: Arslan Umarov
Dr. Sanjar G. Umarov, a resident of Germantown, Tennnessee, is a distinguished physicist, successful entrepreneur, and internationally recognized Prisoner of Conscience currently held in the Central-Asian country of Uzbekistan. Dr. Umarov founded the Sunshine Uzbekistan Coalition, an association of civil groups and intellectuals, which sought to open a dialogue with the Government of Uzbekistan concerning economic reforms that could dramatically improve the quality of life of Uzbek citizens.
Advocating free trade and private ownership of the agricultural industry, Sunshine Uzbekistan Coalition emerged in March 2005 as a pro-democracy organization advocating economic reforms. As a result, the current Uzbek regime responded in October 2005 by arresting, imprisoning, and torturing Dr. Umarov.
The Uzbek court, which Human Rights Watch has called a “Puppet Theatre,” sentenced Dr. Umarov to 14 years in March 2006. U.S. representative to the Economic and Social Council of the U.N., Ambassador T. Vance McMahan, called the charges against Dr. Umarov "unfounded." After five days in custody, Dr. Umarov's lawyer, Vitaly Krasilowsky, found him naked and incoherent on the floor of his cell; substantiating the first of many to witness the grave injustices he is subjected to daily. To this day, he remains locked away in Uzbekistan.
The international community now recognizes Dr. Sanjar G. Umarov as a Prisoner of Conscience (as defined by the Prisoner of Conscience Declaration that was signed by 67 United Nation member-states on June 17, 2008 ). Dr. Umarov is believed to have consistently endured numerous forms of torture, including thirteen consecutive months in an unbearably small solitary cell and 16 consecutive months without being able to communicate with his lawyers or his family.
In November 2005, after the arrest of Dr. Umarov, Senator, Richard Lugar (IN-R), Senator Bill Frist (TN-R), Congressman Harold Ford Jr. (TN-D), and Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn (TN-R) among others, worked vigorously to pass a Congressional Companion Resolution (S. Res. 295; H. Res. 545) in the name of Dr. Umarov; the first and only one of its kind since the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela. Another sponsor of this Resolution, Senator John McCain (AZ-R), calls Dr. Umarov a "true patriot" for his willingness to remain strong under such dismal conditions.
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