Sanjar Umarov, the chairman of the Sunshine Coalition, has pleaded innocent to all charges. The political grouping has been a vocal critic of the government's bloody crackdown on protesters in the eastern city of Andijon in May 2005.
Umarov's lawyer, Vitaly Krasilovsky, dismissed the charges, telling RFE/RL's Uzbek Service that the prosecutor "has no proof of the many crimes that Sanjar Umarov is charged with."
Uzbek prosecutors last week also demanded a 12-year prison sentence for Nodira Hidoyatova, another Sunshine activist. Her sister, Nigora, described the proceedings to the French news agency AFP as a "show trial."
Aftermath Of Andijon
A dedicated webpage bringing together all of RFE/RL's coverage of the events in Andijon, Uzbekistan, in May 2005 and their continuing repercussions.
