# Azam Farmonov

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**Azam Farmonov** is an [Uzbekistani](/source/Uzbekistan) [rural development](/source/Rural_development) activist who spent 11 years in prison following conviction for extortion in 2006.[1] [Amnesty International](/source/Amnesty_International) considered him a [prisoner of conscience](/source/Prisoner_of_conscience) and in 2011 named him a "priority case".[2]

Farmonov has a wife, Ozoda Yakubova, and two children.[3] His father-in-law, Talib Yakubov, is the Vice President of the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan.[3]

On 29 April 2006, Farmonov was arrested along with fellow activist [Alisher Karamatov](/source/Alisher_Karamatov) and charged with extortion.[2] The two later reported torture by security forces, including partial [suffocation](/source/Suffocation) with a disconnected [gas mask](/source/Gas_mask) and beatings on the legs and heels.[2] [Human Rights Watch](/source/Human_Rights_Watch) condemned the trial and stated that it "appear[ed] to be a politically motivated effort to stop their human rights work" in keeping with a recent pattern of suspicious charges against human rights workers.[4] [Front Line](/source/Front_Line_(NGO)) also described the arrests as politically motivated and "part of an ongoing campaign against human rights defenders in Uzbekistan."[5] [Amnesty International](/source/Amnesty_International) condemned the charges and called for the immediate release of Farmonov and Karamatov.[2] Uzbekistani government officials, however, denied that the extortion charges were politically motivated.[4]

Both men were convicted and sentenced to nine years in prison.[2] Farmonov was the first citizen activist to be sent to the notorious [Jaslik](/source/Jaslyk_Prison) "severe regime" prison camp[6] in violation of his sentence, which called for a "general regime" camp.[7] According to his wife, he was repeatedly placed in a "punishment cell," and on 8 January 2008, was stripped naked, handcuffed, and left in an unheated punishment cell for 23 days.[7] In April 2015 his prison term was extended by another five years after the authorities accused him of disobedience to prison rules.[1]

Farmonov was freed from Jaslik on 3 October 2017, two and a half years before the end of his extended prison sentence.[1][6]

## References

1. ["Long Held Journalist and Human Rights Defender Freed From Prison in Uzbekistan - Civil Rights Defenders"](https://crd.org/2017/10/04/long-held-journalist-and-human-rights-defender-freed-from-prison-in-uzbekistan/). *Civil Rights Defenders*. 2017-10-04. Retrieved 2018-10-13.

1. ["ALISHER KARAMATOV AND AZAM FARMONOV, PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110429083020/http://www.amnestyusa.org/individuals-at-risk/priority-cases/uzbekistan-alisher-karamatov-and-azam-farmonov/page.do?id=1181055). [Amnesty International](/source/Amnesty_International). Archived from [the original](http://www.amnestyusa.org/individuals-at-risk/priority-cases/uzbekistan-alisher-karamatov-and-azam-farmonov/page.do?id=1181055) on 2011-04-29. Retrieved 18 April 2011.

1. Talib Yakubov (9 December 2009). ["Blog: My son-in-law, the prisoner of conscience"](http://en.hrsu.org/2009/12/09/talib-yakubov-is-the-father-in-law-of-prisoner/). Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan. Retrieved 18 April 2011.

1. ["Uzbekistan: Broader Criminal Charges Used to Quash Dissent"](https://www.hrw.org/en/news/2006/06/20/uzbekistan-broader-criminal-charges-used-quash-dissent). [Human Rights Watch](/source/Human_Rights_Watch). 20 June 2006. Retrieved 18 April 2011.

1. ["Uzbekistan - Ongoing detention and deterioration in health of human rights defender Alisher Karamatov"](http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/1727). [Front Line](/source/Front_Line_(NGO)). 10 December 2008. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20110304000718/http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/1727) 4 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 18 April 2011.

1. ["Узбекистан: Из заключения освобожден известный правозащитник Азам Фармонов, отсидевший 11 лет"](http://www.fergananews.com/news/26951). *Фергана - международное агентство новостей*. 3 October 2017. Retrieved 2018-10-13.

1. ["Imprisoned Human Rights Defenders in Uzbekistan"](https://www.hrw.org/node/87341). [Human Rights Watch](/source/Human_Rights_Watch). 5 February 2010. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20110327071159/http://www.hrw.org/node/87341) 27 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 18 April 2011.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Azam Farmonov](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azam_Farmonov) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azam_Farmonov?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.