Businessman Khayet Nasretdinov is out to establish a trust of support of Sunny Coalition Coordinator Nodira Khidoyatova facing charges of economic crimes. The defendant's family and companions maintain that the case against her is fabricated and politically motivated. They claim that progressive entrepreneurs Khidoyatova and Sandzhar Umarov (Sunny Coalition leader) were put under pressure when they condemned the authorities' economic policy and suggested their own program of reforms and crisis settlement. Ferghana.Ru correspondents approached Nasretdinov, financial director of one of Khidoyatova's companies, for comments on the case of Sunny Coalition leaders.

Khayet Nasretdinov: Charges were pressed against Khidoyatova when she went in for active politics and became Sunny Coalition coordinator. It is common knowledge that this structure suggests its own program of economic reforms. Tax structures ran a rigorous examination of Bujuk Simojlar's finances in summer 2005 and drew the conclusion that no rules had been bent, that everything was in line with the acting legislation. That is why we were not worried that much when the authorities initiated new investigations shortly after Sunny Coalition went public with its suggestions. The charges of tax evasion, concealment of income, and so on look fabricated...

Ferghana.Ru: The people who know details of the Sunny Coalition leaders' conflict with the authorities wonder why Umarov and Khidoyatova returned to Uzbekistan to be arrested there when they had known in advance that a campaign against them was under way.

Khayet Nasretdinov

Khayet Nasretdinov: When Umarov was bagged, Khidoyatova was seeking support from democratic circles in Russia. I sent her a warning to stay away from Uzbekistan for the time being. After all, businesses can be run from aboard too. She returned to Tashkent all of a sudden in late December 2005 and was arrested deplaning. Perhaps, she was afraid for her family remaining in Tashkent. Besides, as far as I know Khidoyatova, she was confident of her own innocence in the eyes of the law. I'd even say that she did not believe that the authorities would go so far as to arrest her, the mother of two juveniles.

Ferghana.Ru: Any comments on the investigation run by the Prosecutor General's Office and the trial?

Khayet Nasretdinov: Formally, I do not have anything to do with Bujuk Simojlar in connection with which charges were pressed against Khidoyatova. I'm not therefore a witness even though I volunteered to tell the investigation what I knew. In any case, I'm not permitted to attend sittings of the court. In the meantime, I was put under pressure too in the course of the investigation which wanted incriminating evidence from me. Some plainclothesmen advised me to resign from my position, expose the company's financial channels, and tell them what I knew about Khidoyatova's bank accounts. They even said they could plant dope or arrange a car crash... There were other provocations as well. When two hoodlums jumped me but I got the upper hand and dragged them to the nearest police station, they asked the police for permission to use the phone, dialed some number... and were instantly released. Banks and former business partners are being harassed by the authorities bent on ruining the business. Banks demand an immediate repayment of loans. Partners annul contracts and explain that they have been bullied by the authorities to do so. Our financial documents are arrested. When I asked a bank executive if they were ready to receive the demanded payment in cash right now, without documents or signatures, he replied that they were.

Ferghana.Ru: The defendant's sister Nigara Khidoyatova claims that several days after the arrest prosecutors implied that the criminal charges might be dropped for a "donation" of $50,000. The donation was never made, but you are establishing a trust now. Why?

Khayet Nasretdinov: In the course of my only conversation with investigators I was told that Khidoyatova could recompense the state for the damage done to it and that charges would be dropped indeed. Umarov's and Khidoyatova's families decided not to pay because paying would have served as an indirect confession of guilt. Sandzhar and Nodira in the meantime plead innocent and do not want their business repute affected.

Ferghana.Ru: But you are establishing a trust. You've even put some of your own capitals in it...

Khayet Nasretdinov: I'm doing it of my own volition, without having discussed the matter with the defendants themselves or their families. I want to make sure that Nodira will have certain support regardless of what the verdict is. I'm convinced of her innocence and not at all convinced of impartiality of the court in what is undoubtedly a political trial. A good person must be set free. Life itself will right the wrong in a broader sense of the word. I've been studying martial arts for 17 years, and their philosophy includes postulates like "hasten to admire a person for life is short" and "appreciate whoever has done you good." I do not know what politician Nodira would have made had Sunny Coalition been permitted to exist. I know her as a person instead. She helped me once when I was in trouble and my appreciation of her only increased with years. Our companies helped homeless children and the people whose rights had been encroached on. Our companies were involved in charity projects. What really counts, they offered people jobs and decent salaries. The Umarovs and Khidoyatovs are national intelligentsia in the third generation, the people who care for their country and speak up their mind. Sunny Coalition hoped to obtain official registration from the Justice Ministry and act in the interests of society. It could rally the best representatives of the middle class - small and medium businesses who need their political interests promoted and social progress accomplished...