Uzbek dissident writer Yusuf Juma's family says he is being tortured in Uzbekistan's notorious Jaslyk prison and needs medical attention, RFE/RL's Uzbek Service reports.
Juma's daughter, Feruza, said after visiting him last week in Karakalpakstan that he has numerous wounds from abuse and torture and can barely walk. Juma's wife, Gulnora Oltiyeva, told RFE/RL that her husband has also lost a lot weight.
Juma, 50, was arrested with one of his sons in December after staging a protest against the reelection of President Islam Karimov. He was found guilty in April of organizing an illegal gathering and sentenced to five years in jail.
Another son, Mashrab, is serving a three-year prison sentence.
International human rights groups have accused Uzbek officials of routinely using torture in prisons.
(by Khurmat Babadjanov of RFE/RL's Uzbek Service)
Juma's daughter, Feruza, said after visiting him last week in Karakalpakstan that he has numerous wounds from abuse and torture and can barely walk. Juma's wife, Gulnora Oltiyeva, told RFE/RL that her husband has also lost a lot weight.
Juma, 50, was arrested with one of his sons in December after staging a protest against the reelection of President Islam Karimov. He was found guilty in April of organizing an illegal gathering and sentenced to five years in jail.
Another son, Mashrab, is serving a three-year prison sentence.
International human rights groups have accused Uzbek officials of routinely using torture in prisons.
(by Khurmat Babadjanov of RFE/RL's Uzbek Service)
