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Gulnara Karimova getting special treatment in Tashkent prison, claims former inmate
bne IntelliNews
Gulnara Karimova, the disgraced and imprisoned daughter of the late Uzbek president Islam Karimov, enjoys special treatment and privileges in a Tashkent prison, a former inmate has claimed in an interview with well-known Uzbek blogger Kirill Altman.
The 52-year-old, convicted of charges including embezzlement and money laundering that provided the corrupt means for luxury homes owned across Europe and Asia, does not eat with others in the prison canteen but instead has food delivered to her from outside of the prison, the former inmate was reported as saying. “She gets her food delivered...when there is nobody around,” the woman added. “It’s not an ordinary parcel of some 10 kilos,
it’s much bigger.”
Karimova is serving a 13-year jail term she was handed in 2020 at a peniten- tiary in the Zangiota district of Tashkent region.
“She has four beds that she has separated with sheets from the others in the cell [to give her privacy],” the ex-prisoner, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added. She continued: “[Gulnara] wears a uniform that is similar to other inmates’ uniforms, but hers are made from more breathable fabrics. She also wears shoes with laces, even though shoelaces are not allowed in prison.”
The former inmate was also reported as saying that Karimova “doesn’t obey the rules” but “is not punished”.
She added: “There are some claims that she gets bullied [in prison] but... nobody bullies her. In fact, it’s her who provokes [conflicts]. [Prison authorities] make a lot of concessions to her that others don’t get.”
Karimova, she asserted, often “gets whatever she wants”.
Gulnara Karimova. Headache for prison officials? / Iman Karimova’s Instagram
Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party (UzLiDeP), which is closely associated with President Mirziyoyev.
All five of the incumbent parties
are closely associated with the
executive and no opposition parties
are represented in parliament. While Mirziyoyev economic reforms have been extensive and highly successful, as bne IntelliNews reported in the special report Uzbekistan rising, the political reforms have until been largely ignored.
However, there have been a few improve- ments on human right issues. Child labour used to bring in the cotton harvest has been ended. After Mirziyoyev took office in 2016 hundreds of political prisoners were released. International media has been welcomed back into the country after almost a decade of exile.
The biggest gain to date has changes to the constitution in April 2023 that improved labour and property rights guarantees, but most importantly enshrined a raft of women’s rights. However, writing women’s rights into the constitution is only the very first step in bolstering civil liberties that eventually leads to things like gay marriage and Uzbekistan is only at the very start of that long journey.
And it should be noted that the changes to the constitution also reset the term- clock allowing Mirziyoyev to serve another two terms in office.
The new parliamentary party legislation only reinforces the existing system
and will also benefit smaller parties, like the Ecological Party of Uzbekistan, which holds 15 seats in the 150-member lower chamber of the Oliy Majlis,
the legislature. Despite UzLiDeP's dominance, the revised funding formula provides significant support to smaller parties.
UzLiDeP, the party of President Mirziyoyev, registered him as its candidate for the 2023 snap elections, in which he secured almost 88% of the vote. UzLiDeP has similarly supported previous President Islam Karimov, who passed away in 2016. In the latest
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