Uzbek farmer Dilorom Abdukadirova was arrested, jailed and likely tortured for fleeing a massacre by her own government.
She was one of thousands of poverty-stricken Uzbekistan citizens who gathered in Andijan in May, 2005, to meet with their President, Instead, they were confronted with gunfire.
“Maybe 5,000 people sat in the city square waiting for the president to come all day," English tutor and friend to Abdukadirova, Carolyn Hemer, told SBS.
"And on nightfall a helicopter came and they thought it was the president but instead it was the army and they opened fire on them and they ran.”
Mrs Hemer recalls the day when her friend Dilorom opened up about her Andjian experience.
"She had the kindest smile."
“She’d been here in Adelaide a little while as a refugee and we’d become friends. She had the kindest smile. Then one day she sat down and it just poured out.”
By 2010, her friend was being drawn back to Uzbekistan by the pleas of her family.
Dilorom Abdukadirova, who is imprisoned in Uzbekistan.
“Her sons would get on the phone and cry and say mama come home, please come home. And she has four sons and a husband back in Uzbekistan and everyone assured her that things were much better than they had been and it would be safe to return.”
But within one month, Mrs Abdukadirova is thought to have been arrested and incarcerated.
"And that’s where she’s been ever since,” Mrs Hemer says.
“She was the first Uzbek refugee who had come here to Australia to return, and of course after this event, everyone realised there was no way that any of the others would be able to return.”
Softly spoken Mrs Hemer has now become an unlikely activist.
Softly spoken Mrs Hemer has now become an unlikely activist, teaming up with Amnesty International to petition for her friend’s freedom.
Amnesty International campaigner Ming Yu says there are no grounds on which Mrs Abdukadirova can legitimately be held.
“She’s been charged with 18 years on counts such as denigration and attempts to overthrow the Uzbeki government," Ms Yu says.
"Now at Amnesty International we’ve found these charges are spurious, and also it seems that she’s been tortured while she’s been behind bars."
Activists in Berlin rally for the release of Dilorom Abdukadirova. (Amnesty International)
Family members have reported that Dilorom appeared emaciated at her 2010 trial and had bruises on her face. They believe that she was forced to appear in court without her hijab after being kept in a cell for two weeks without access to a lawyer or relatives.
In a dozen countries across Europe, from the UK and France to Hungary and Poland, activists took public action by donning sacks on their heads to highlight Dilorom’s mistreatment and generate political pressure for her release.
"200,000 people all around the world from about 120 countries who are now calling on the Uzbekistani government to release Dilorom"
“We’ve had 200,000 people all around the world from about 120 countries who are now calling on the Uzbekistani government to release Dilorom and also to investigate the allegations of torture” Ms Yu says.
More than 27,000 of those signatures came from Australia – a groundswell that Carolyn Hemer hopes will make a difference.
“With worldwide attention on Dilorom’s case, maybe that will bring pressure to bear on the government”.
Ming Yu is urging the Australian government to step up its representations to Uzbekistan.
A Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson says Australia has raised human rights concerns with Uzbekistan through its Moscow embassy and the UN Human Rights Council, and recommended that all political prisoners be released. The spokesperson says Uzbek authorities have declined repeated requests for consular access to the former Australian resident.
