Uzbek man feeds chickens in Kuva, Fergana, 2008. Photo by Queen Esoterica.
As we know, Fergananews.com came up with this story that terrorist suspect Jamshid Muhtorov was friends with a former Uzbek lieutenant-colonel, Zoir Sharipov, who was head of the anti-terrorism department of the police in Jizzak. This may account for how he was able to avoid arrest and also eventually escape from the country.
I've been looking around for any information about Sharipov and can't find much (it's a common name and the social media accounts with that name don't look to be related to him).
Frontline Defenders has an affidavit for a 1599 complaint from some victims of human rights violations who wrote extensively of their experiences here.
And here's what's said about Lt. Col. Sharipov in one account:
The hearing took place on 2nd April [2004] and it was also obvious that the head of the 3rd department for the fight against corruption and terror, lieutenant colonel Zoir Sharipov and a staff member of this department mayor [major?] Bakhtier Mukhtarov both said that they found six books in Arab script in the hen-house and in the response of an expert three books were pointed out in Cyrillic and the title "Al-vai" of a forbidden religious book. So they themselves sent three booksi n Cyrillic to an expert so they could consider me a member of Khizburt-takhrir [Hizb-ut-Tahir].
The judge told us that the videotape had been sealed after the recording in the hen-house and that it was being opened then. So then how did it happen that on the video there was a recording of a personal meeting that had taken place when I was in custody?
On the video we saw that one of the investigators had not even counted to three books when another investigator who was making up a report in the corridor, shouted that there were 6 (six) items. Even the judge laughed when he saw this part and asked for it to be repeated several times. This is a clear indicator of falsification.
Yes, I'm wondering if Bakhtier Mukhtarev is a relative of Jamshid's (his name is spelled Muhtorov in the English press but also appeared in Russian and English as Mukhtarev), and if that also explains anything about his story.
Remember how Tolib Yakubov said Jamshid's sister had a job as a secretary in the court house? Knowing how the patronage system works, could this have been a job that a relative inside the system helped her get? Speculation of course. Or even aside from all that, was Muhtorov pressed into cooperation in exchange for getting let off?
Police plant religious tracts, drugs, and weapons on people all the time in Uzbekistan -- imagine going to the lengths to hide them in the hen-house!
The entire document gives a very good sense of what the level of persecution was like in Jizzakh -- high and extensive. And it squarely describes Sharipov as somebody who methodically harassed dissidents from his position in the anti-terrorist department.
So as I've indicated, the question is whether Sharipov is involved at all in Muhtorov's case now, and what the variations are;
o He was in collusion with Muhtorov and they are acting on behalf of the Uzbek secret police to fake a terrorist plot;
o He is serving as a false witness against Muhtorov without his knowledge, and continuing possible persecution of him.
o He is making an accurate report in fact of planned support of a terrorist group -- or some other variation.
