Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has voiced relief at the release Wednesday of photographer Umida Akhmedova but expressed dismayed at the “extremely dangerous precedent” set by the Tashkent court which found her guilty of “slander” and “insulting the Uzbek people”.
The court convicted her only two days into her trial but immediately released her on the grounds that she was eligible under an amnesty that was declared last August.
“We are above all relieved, but it would have been the unbelievable height of absurdity if she had been put in jail for her artistic work," said RSF after the verdict against the photographer and filmmaker.
She had been accused of denigrating her country in her work focusing on poverty and the condition of women and faced up to three years in prison under Articles 139 and 140 of the criminal law. The charges related in particular to her collection of photos titled “Woman and Man: From Dawn till Night” and a film about the burden of marriage customs titled The Weight of Virginity.
“By finding the photographer guilty, the Uzbek justice system has however set an extremely dangerous precedent. How many times must it be said that Umida Akhmedova did her work with talent and courage and is not guilty of anything? Her conviction, even in principle, is unacceptable," RSF said.
“The hypocrisy of this verdict reflects the schizophrenia of the regime which is keen to break out of its international isolation, but repressive and paranoid towards its own citizens. The international community must get it to choose," it concluded.
