Karakalpak Activist Faces Trial in Uzbekistan

Trials have commenced in Nukus against Karakalpak activists Jetkerbay Abdramanov and Rinat Utambetov, both of whom “voluntarily returned” from Russia and Kazakhstan, Orda.kz reports, citing the Turkmen Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights.

The court proceedings for Jetkerbay Abdramanov began on March 7. He faces charges of publicly calling for unconstitutional changes to the state system, distributing materials that threaten public safety online, and participating in banned organizations.

Abdramanov first drew the attention of Uzbek security services in June 2022 when he helped collect signatures in Almaty against constitutional amendments that would revoke the sovereign status of the Republic of Karakalpakstan. After being deported from Kazakhstan in January 2023 over immigration violations, he sought asylum in multiple countries. Later that year, Uzbek authorities placed him on a wanted list for political crimes. On December 27, 2024, he 'disappeared' at Domodedovo Airport in Moscow after arriving from Murmansk. It was later reported that he had allegedly 'voluntarily returned' to Uzbekistan, where he was immediately detained. By the end of January 2025, he was transferred from Tashkent to a pre-trial detention center in Nukus. Turkmen Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights writes.

Abdramanov is the second Karakalpak activist to be charged with involvement in banned organizations. According to human rights groups, he is suspected of ties to Alga Karakalpakstan, an organization banned by Uzbek authorities in 2024.

However, there has been no official announcement confirming the decision to ban it.

On March 10, the Nukus City Court also began hearing the case against Rinat Utambetov. He is accused of obstructing constitutional authorities through violent actions and disseminating materials that threaten public safety, allegedly in coordination with others via the Internet.

Utambetov was detained in Kazakhstan in April 2024, as he was declared wanted in Uzbekistan. He remained in pre-trial detention in Almaty until December, when he was transferred to Uzbek authorities following conversations with his relatives about returning home.

According to human rights activists, Utambetov was not involved with Karakalpak opposition groups. His charges reportedly stem from sharing three 'prohibited video materials' in a private Telegram group of 10 residents from Shortanbay village in the Nukus district. This occurred during the summer of 2022 when protests erupted against removing Karakalpakstan's autonomous status in Uzbekistan’s Constitution. In the same case, Utambetov’s former classmate, Rakhim Pirnazarov, was sentenced to four years of restricted freedom in August 2023. the foundation reported.

Utambetov was held in pre-trial detention in Tashkent before being sent to Nukus in late January 2025.

Meanwhile, Orda’s editor-in-chief, Gulnara Bazhkenova, recently spoke with Karakalpak activist and human rights defender Aqylbek Muratbai about ongoing repression against the Karakalpak people in Uzbekistan.

Original Author: Oksana Matvienko