Sandzhar (Sanjar) Umarov's verdict challenged, prosecutor of Tashkent is asking for a lighter sentence to the Sunny Coalition leader.

Press Center of the Initiative Group of Independent Human Rights Activists of Uzbekistan reports that the case of Umarov sentenced to imprisonment for economic crimes by the Tashkent Municipal Court on March 6, 2006, was taken up by the Mirzo Ulugbek Court of Tashkent. The trial chaired by V.N. Sharipov began at 10:30 a.m. on April 10.

The Tashkent Municipal Court (judge Zakirzhan Isayev, Prosecutor Gennadi Davletov) sentenced Umarov to 14.5 years imprisonment. Human rights activists and Umarov's colleagues call his trial political.

It turned out at the trial today that the Tashkent prosecutor challenged the verdict. Assistant Prosecutor Allayev asked the sentence to be lightened and demanded that all witnesses who had testified against Umarov were questioned again.

Umarov's lawyer V.Krasilovsky said that his client should be set free for the lack of corpus delicti because his guilt has never been established.

Press Center of the Initiative Group of Independent Human Rights Activists of Uzbekistan