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Leading US-based human rights lobby group Human Rights Watch has strongly denounced the July 1999 killing of Sri Lankan human rights defender Dr. Neelan Tiruchelvam, calling his assassination by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam "a devastating blow to the human rights community." "Neelan was a vocal critic of abuses by all sides in the Sri Lankan conflict, a tireless advocate for minority rights, and a respected constitutional lawyer. He dedicated his life to finding a peaceful solution to his country's protracted war," the organisation said. The group's statement added that Human Rights Watch joins colleagues around the world in denouncing Thiruchelvam's murder. The rest of the statement is as follows: "Human rights defenders around the world are persecuted, imprisoned, tortured and in some cases, pay the highest price for their work on behalf of and commitment to the ideals of human rights. "Human Rights Watch joins colleagues around the world in denouncing the July 1999 Killing of Sri Lankan human rights defender Neelan Tiruchelvam. Neelan was a vocal critic of abuses by all sides in the Sri Lankan conflict, a tireless advocate for minority rights, and a respected constitutional lawyer. He dedicated his life to finding a peaceful solution to his country's protracted war. His murder by a suicide bomber, allegedly sent by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, was a devastating blow to the human rights community. "Since their emergence in 1992, human rights defenders in Uzbekistan have worked under the pressure of rigorous Government surveillance and harassment, The Government has steadfastly refused to grant registration to the two leading non-governmental groups, rendering their activities illegal. "Following a series of bombings in the country's capital, Tashkent, in February 1999, the Uzbek Government intensified its campaign against independent rights activities. These groups members were actively involved in documenting arbitrary arrests, torture, and unfair trials that took place during the extensive police crackdown following the bombings.
"Law enforcement officers arrested, beat, threatened and otherwise harassed rights defenders in an effort to punish and silence them. In a tactic unseen since the Stalin era, authorities forced several activists to attend public meetings in which speakers insulted them and accused them of "anti-state activity". "Two of the country's most prominent human rights defenders, Mahabuba Kasynova and Ismoil Adylov of the Independent Human Rights Organization of Uzbekistan, were sentenced to five and six years in prison, 'respectively, on wholly spurious charges. Adylov is seriously ill with a chronic kidney ailment, and prison authorities have denied him medicine provided by his family and access to medical treatment."
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