Muslim women – Sweden: Uzbek refugees held a rally in defense of women –
December 20, 2009 – 12:00 am
“Freedom Uzbek mothers” – the slogan was held to protest the Uzbek refugees on Wednesday, December 16, the square Medborgplatsen (Civic Square) in Stockholm.
In the picket in defense of Muslim women in Uzbekistan attended by approximately 50 people. Almost all of them – come from Uzbekistan, have fled their country because of persecution on religious grounds, reports Deutsche Welle.
Organizers given one action would attract attention of the press and the public in an ongoing campaign of mass arrests of Muslims in Uzbekistan.
living in exile imam Obidkhon Nazarov said in an interview with Deutsche Welle that the prosecution against religious believers in Uzbekistan intensified, and, above all, in his opinion, it deals specifically with women.
According to the Imam, the initiative group Uzbek refugees decided to hold a picket in downtown Stockholm after the arrest of more than 30 Muslim women in the city of Karshi Kashkadarya region, which the authorities accuse of spreading extremist ideas in one of the mosques. According to refugees, these women, many of whom are infants, are now in prison only because of their religious beliefs.
One of the picket Hassan Temirov, told Radio Liberty that the protest was attended by about 60 people.
He said that the protesters carried placards with slogans “Freedom arrested women “and” Stop the repression against ordinary Muslims, “which were written in English, Uzbek and Swedish.
Temirov reported that Swedish citizens and expressed interest in shares, which was covered in the media.
Protesters have written an open letter to Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose country currently presides the European Union, as well as President of the European Commission and European Parliament. The letter asked the activists to draw attention to human rights violations in Uzbekistan, and, in particular, the fate of 30-Karshi women who are currently in custody and tortured. “Our voice – turn in a letter to the refugees – for justice and respect for the right to freedom of conscience”.
Recall, November 5, 40-year-old Mehriniso Khamdamov, professor of religious courses for women in the mosque Cook Gumbaz “in Karshi, and also many of her relatives – including her sister, daughter and niece – were arrested and imprisoned along with other women.
