Erkin Musaev, former political prisoner. Image: Human Rights Watch. The most striking thing about Erkin Musaev is his optimism. With a pleasant smile and gentle manner, he told us over dinner in Tashkent about his ideas for improving Uzbekistan, his homeland.
Uzbekistan is going through a reform shake-up under president Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who last year took over the reins following the death of the authoritarian leader Islam Karimov. There have been some important human rights changes, but severe patterns of abuse still exist.
Many people are excited about the changes but Musaev, 50, is an unlikely candidate to be one of them. He was a senior official for Karimov’s administration for many years, and one of his representatives to NATO. Yet in 2006 he found himself facing bogus espionage charges, and was thrown in jail, convicted and sentence to 20 years in prison. Musaev was severely tortured, and his health suffered during his 11 years behind bars. But then, in August, he was released — one of more than 10 former political prisoners set free since Mirziyoyev assumed the presidency.
