After the Verdict, the Fear Continues: Gulirano Kosimova Warns of Threats and Retaliation

Gulirano Kosimova who recently won partial justice in a shocking case of beatings and abuse by the Uzbek authorities, has again spoken out in a recent video appeal. It marks a troubling escalation in a case that has already exposed grave human rights violations in Uzbekistan and a lack of political will to hold those in power to account. Although the court sentenced the head of the Furkat district police and his deputy to four years in the equivalent of an open prison, nine other police officers who participated directly in the assault, walked free without charges. However, on November 28, the judge sent a directive to the prosecutor’s office stating that circumstances revealed during the court hearings indicated that some of the individuals who committed the crimes had not been brought to justice, and that the prosecutor’s office should therefore decide whether to initiate criminal proceedings.

Kosimova initially chose to not to speak publicly after the trial in the belief that the prosecutor’s office would follow the directive of the court and hold the remaining perpetrators to account. “I said I would stop speaking online and wait for the prosecutor’s conclusion regarding the remaining