U.S. State Department. 'Uzbekistan 2013 Human Rights Report'. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. 2013.

U.S. State Department. Uzbekistan 2013 Human Rights Report. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. 2013.

• There are no confirmed reports that the government or government agents have committed arbitrary or unlawful killings. The Andijon Incident remains a unique case which requires special treatment and does not constitute a pattern of behavior among security forces (2). 
• The Uzbekistani Constitution and national law both prohibit the use of torture. However, beatings and starvation, sexual abuse precluding rape, strangulation, stress positions, and electric shock, and threats against family members have all been used by police to obtain information or confessions (3).
• Beating is common for all most but the most minor offenders. They are universal and harsh for those accused of terrorism or extremism (3). Other forms of abuse are significantly less common and likely reflect individual sadism rather than general practice. 
• Most severe treatments are likely limited to those accused of committing political crimes. Those abused individuals are often denied treatment to medical evaluation to cover-up abuse.
• Uzbekistani prisons are overcrowded and feature high levels of infectious disease (esp. TB and Hepatitis) with limited access to hygiene or other services. Food and water, as well as other amenities, are of low quality, which is to be expected in a developing country. Delivers of these by family members of often withheld or taken by guards (5).  
• Women, men, and youth criminals are held in separate facilities. Often political prisons and those accused of extremism are kept apart from all other groups for fear of spreading sedition (4).
• There have been no reports of sexual abuse taking place in prisons. However, beatings remain common as a tool to keep the prison population in line (5).
• Prisoners held in pre-trial detention facilities are required -- unless the right is waived -- to meet with a lawyer from the state NGO and a representative of the Ombudsman's office. The Ombudsman's office is empowered to request sentences changes or to report abuse. There are a number of examples of the office successfully reducing prison time or releasing individuals by demonstrating full restitution (6).
• Prisoners are able to confidentially contact the Ombudsman at any time during their stay. To what degree this law is applied is unknown (6).
• Prisoners are allowed access to family members two to four times per year for visits for around 4 hours. Prisoners in certain less serious facilities are allowed visits of up to 3 days with family or spouses (6). This includes conjugal visits.
• Political prisoners report that they have been denied access to these visits, or they have been shorted, interrupted, and delayed (6).
• Prisoners are frequently denied the right to practice their religion or access religious texts, despite their technical freedom to do so. This is almost a universal experience for those prisoners accused of religious extremism (6).
• Prison terms may be significantly extended for prisoners that the state doesn't want released (e.g., religious extremists, political activists) due to supposed violations of internal prison rules. In these cases, inmates are not given access to lawyers or the ability to appeal a decision (7).
• The Red Cross and Crescent no longer inspects prison conditions as of April 2013, citing high costs and excessive bureaucracy as the reason for termination (7).
• Detailed and complete description of the roles of Uzbekstani security agencies:                                             "The government authorizes three different entities to investigate criminal activity. The Ministry of Interior controls the police, who are responsible for law enforcement and maintenance of order and investigate general crime. The NSS, headed by a chairman who reports directly to the president, deals with a broad range of national security and intelligence problems, including terrorism, corruption, organized crime, and narcotics. Prosecutors investigate violent crimes such as homicide as well as corruption by officials and abuse of power. Where jurisdictions overlap, the agencies determine among themselves which should take the lead. The ministry’s main investigations directorate has internal procedures to investigate abuses and discipline officers accused of human rights violations, but the government rarely punished officials who committed human rights abuses. A human rights and legal education department within the ministry investigated some police brutality cases. The Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office, affiliated with parliament, also has the power to investigate cases, although its decisions on such investigations have no binding authority" (8).
• A judge must review and sign a warrant for any arrest that has taken place is will take place. Police are required to inform a family member of the arrest within 24 hours. A suspect may be detained without charges for 72 hours, extended for an additional 48 hours upon request (9).
• Authorities generally followed these rules and released suspects are required times. The main violations were the use of abuse and/or torture on suspects immediately after detainment (9).
• Suspects may be held in pretrial detention for up to 3 months after charges have been filed, and this may be extended to a year with court approval (9).
• Every year or two the Uzbekistani government offers amnesty deals to certain prisoners. Generally women, youth, senior citizens (60+), foreigners, the disabled, first-time offenders, and those with serious illnesses are eligible for these amnesty deals. Prisoners were not included if they had life sentences, repeat-offenses, or a history of violence in-prison behavior. Amnesty options included release from prison, transfer to a work camp, or termination of a criminal case by a court at the pretrial or trial stage, varying on case (10).
• Most applicants were eventually turned down by a court, but over 2,000 were released and many more were given reduced sentences based on behavior and reformation (11).
• All judges in Uzbekistan are appointed by the office of the President on 5-year terms. This also applies to the Supreme Court, but changes to that institution also require Parliamentary approval (11).
• Juries are not an institutions in Uzbekistan. All trials consist of one judge and 2 lay assessors -- selected by the local mahalla. Judges typically sided with the prosecution, but the system worked fairly-well in cases not dealing with political crimes (12).
• Most trials are open to the public, with international observes being allowed access to almost all cases. The exceptions involve organized crime where defendants would be at risk (11).
• Courts frequently dismissed claims that torture had been used to extract confessions on that grounds that it was solely to avoid criminal responsibility. These were not properly investigated unless the Ombudsman has already involved (12).
• Security services frequent ignore search warrant requirements. Groups suspected of anti-state activity have their residences searched and all means of communication covertly monitored (14).
• The law restricts criticism of the president, and public insult is a crime punishable by up to five years in prison. The law specifically prohibits publication of articles that incite religious confrontation and ethnic discord or that advocate overthrowing the constitutional order (15).
• The law holds all foreign and domestic media organizations accountable for the accuracy of their reporting, prohibits foreign journalists from working in the country without official accreditation, and requires that foreign media outlets be subject to mass media laws (15).
• Domestic outlets sometimes carry stories critical of lower-level officials or certain practices. Any direct criticism of institutions results in punitive action, such as harassment, frequent temporary arrests, and fines for defamation and libel (15).
• The government generally allows access to the internet, including sites on sensitive topics and social media. However, internet service providers are required to block sites or remove content when request by the government, and some negative sites have been blocked for a number of year (17).
• Freedom of association is constitutionally guaranteed, but rallies and/or protests are frequently disbanded for security reasons. Additionally, the proper registration process for rallies is complex and failure to comply results in large fines often exceeding 5 million so'm [$2,000 USD] (18).
• All NGOs must be registered with the Ministry of Justice, which frequently denies permits to groups critical of the government. During registration, NGOs are given a 6-month 'grace' period of operation w/o official papers. The activity of those NGOs is strictly enforced and only those which support objectives in-line w/ the government are allowed to operate (20).
• NGOs are generally not allowed to receive foreign funding -- with some notable exceptions. To make up for this the government offers grants to NGOs they support coming to a total of 1.3 billion so'm [$630,000] in 2013 (20).
• In-country travel is generally unhindered, with the exception that permission is required to relocate to Toshkent Shahr or Toshkent Viloyat due to overcrowding concerns (21).
• Exit visas are required to leave the country, although these are usually granted for all countries except Afghanistan. Additionally women between the ages of 18 and 35 require a statement from a relative or mahalla stating that they are not being trafficked (21).
• The law has penalties against corruption, but has frequently failed to enforce these punishments, which are authorized by the Interior Ministry. Corruption at low-levels involves taking of bribes -- a near universal practice -- while high level corruption usual involves misappropriation of state funds or materials (25).
• There are as of 2013, no protections in place for whistleblowers (25).
• Control of human rights groups is frequently interpersonal and informal. With non-registered groups being harassed, and registered groups frequently meeting with law-enforcement personnel and cooperating to avoid censure (27).
• Domestic violence is often not treated as a crime in Uzbekistan. When called law-enforcement officers are reported to treat the situation seriously and take effective action, but more often issues are dealt with my mahalla officials aiming at reconciliation rather than punishment (28).
• Martial rape is not recognized as a separate crime, and no known cases have been taken to court (28).
• Access to reproductive care and family planning is common, free, and reliable, with some decline in quality and availability in rural areas (29).
• There are cases of doctors sterilizing women who have a large number of children or whose children have died in the past, as a way to manipulate infant mortality figures (29).
• Children are generally provided services through local mahallas, but street children w/o homes and not currently in state care do not receive any of these services (30).
• Access to public facilities for disabled persons continues to be inadequate, but recourse is available and the government is making steady improvements (31).
• Sodomy is a criminal act, punishable by imprisonment of up to 3 years. There have not been any known cases of this being enforced since 2003, however. More commonly, the threat of this law is used to extract heavy bribes from gay men (33).
• Unions are typically organized at a national level and independent unions do not exist for fear of harassment or censure. They are generally seen to represented group interests, however, despite corruption (34).
• The government -- as of 2010 -- continues to effectively prohibit the use of labourers under the age of 15. Student attending lyceum, however, are sometimes included in the cotton harvest. These behavior is, however, punished when caught (35).
• Approximately 17% of the population was thought to live below the poverty line as of 2013 (38).
• The governmental work week -- which must be followed by the state-owned enterprises which still constitute the majority form of employment -- is 40 hours a week, with mandatory overtime payments (39).