TASHKENT -- A former high-ranking Uzbekistani official had his reputation restored by the country's highest court 21 years after his release from prison, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)'s Uzbek service reported Sunday (August 13).
Mavlon Umurzakov, a former state councillor to then-President Islam Karimov, was arrested in late 1994 on charges including bribe-taking and misuse of official powers. The informant who fingered him, who also went to prison, later said he had been tortured into naming Umurzakov. Umurzakov served 2.5 years of a six-year sentence.
The supreme court August 8 fully exonerated Umurzakov. The decision includes compensating him for the moral and economic losses he suffered because of his unfounded arrest.
Umurzakov told RFE/RL he had waited 21 years for this day and was ready to return to work for the government, if it would have him.
