Dr. Sanjar G. Umarov, a resident of Germantown, Tennnessee, is a distinguished physicist, successful entrepreneur, and internationally recognized Prisoner of Conscience currently held in the Central-Asian country of Uzbekistan. Dr. Umarov founded the Sunshine Uzbekistan Coalition, an association of civil groups and intellectuals, which sought to open a dialogue with the Government of Uzbekistan concerning economic reforms that could dramatically improve the quality of life of Uzbek citizens. Advocating free trade and private ownership of the agricultural industry, Sunshine Uzbekistan Coalition emerged in March 2005 as a pro-democracy organization advocating economic reforms. As a result, the current Uzbek regime responded in October 2005 by arresting, imprisoning, and torturing Dr. Umarov.

The Uzbek court, which Human Rights Watch has called a “Puppet Theatre,” sentenced Dr. Umarov to 14 years in March 2006. U.S. representative to the Economic and Social Council of the U.N., Ambassador T. Vance McMahan, called the charges against Dr. Umarov “unfounded.” After five days in custody, Dr. Umarov’s lawyer, Vitaly Krasilowsky, found him naked and incoherent on the floor of his cell; substantiating the first of many to witness the grave injustices he is subjected to daily. To this day, Dr. Umarov remains locked away in Prison Camp 64/47, a prison in Kizil-Tepa, Uzbekistan.

The international community now recognizes Dr. Sanjar G. Umarov as a Prisoner of Conscience (as defined by the Prisoner of Conscience Declaration that was signed by 67 United Nation member-states on June 17, 2008 ). Dr. Umarov is believed to have consistently endured numerous forms of torture, including 13 consecutive months in an unbearably small solitary cell and 16 consecutive months without being able to communicate with his lawyers or his family. Dr. Sanjar Umarov’s life is under immediate threat and he is in desperate need of medical attention. Dr. Umarov’s wife, Dr. Indira Niyazov Umarov, and her five children plead for your thoughts and prayers regarding their “Papa” and anxiously await his release.

Dr. Umarov has worked as an assistant professor at the University of Algiers and a senior professor at the University of Tashkent, where he taught physics and engineering. As a Thad Cochran Fellow, he worked closely with Mississippi State University to bring about industrialization of Uzbek agriculture, an industry that provides nearly 80% of the Uzbek peoples with their income. During the early 1990s, Dr. Umarov was instrumental in founding Uzbekistan’s first business school in addition to the USSR’s first cellular communications company. In realizing the great potential of newly independent Central Asian economies, Dr. Umarov worked to facilitate Western investment in the telecommunications, gas, and oil industries. Following the tragedies on September 11th, Dr. Umarov was honored for his involvement in the procurement and logistics of jet fuel to U.S. troops in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom.

In November 2005, after the arrest of Dr. Umarov, Senator, Richard Lugar (IN-R), Senator Bill Frist (TN-R), Congressman Harold Ford Jr. (TN-D), and Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn (TN-R) among others, worked vigorously to pass a Congressional Companion Resolution (S. Res. 295; H. Res. 545) in the name of Dr. Umarov; the first and only one of its kind since the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela. Another sponsor of this Resolution, Senator John McCain (AZ-R), calls Dr. Umarov a “true patriot” for his willingness to remain strong under such dismal conditions.

This petition is written freely with the intent to be recognized throughout the world in the name of Dr. Sanjar Umarov, a beloved friend, father, and husband. The family and friends of Dr. Umarov hope that this petition will be heard throughout countries that detain, hold, and torture Prisoners of Conscience.

We the undersigned respectfully call upon the Red Cross to take action and provide Dr. Sanjar Umarov with immediate medical attention.

Furthermore, we the undersigned respectfully call upon the United States Congress, the European Union, the Government of Uzbekistan, and International Human Rights Organizations to take action in regard to the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Sanjar Umarov, a man devoted to freedom everywhere.

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