Freedom for Eurasia received alarming reports about the state of health of another political prisoner, civil society activist Saadatdin Reimov, who is serving his sentence in a penal colony 34 in Kashkardaryia region. He suffered a heart attack in April 2024, but the colony administration prevented his hospitalisation and failed to provide proper medical help and treatment. According to his relatives, on July 19, 2024 at 2 am Reimov went into a coma and was taken by ambulance to a hospital.
Later, doctors diagnosed a ruptured appendix and performed an operation. According to a source that spoke with Freedom for Eurasia, the operation was carried out without anaesthesia, because, according to doctors, anaesthesia is contraindicated after coma.
Reimov was transferred to the cardiology department of the hospital, having been diagnosed with heart problems (low pulse rate). On July 31, 2024 the human rights activist was returned to the prison colony. On August 02, 2024 Reimov was again taken to the hospital by ambulance, as his leg, arm and the right side of his face were paralysed.
On August 05, 2024 his wife spoke to him on the phone, Reimov said that he had another heart attack, his pulse was still low, and doctors said that he needed round the clock care, which is impossible in the conditions of the colony. Nevertheless, he was returned to the prison again. The only thing that the prison authorities did due to the state of his health is they freed him from participating in the daily formations of prisoners on the prison square. All expenses related to medical treatment had to be borne by the family, which is now in distress. For his heart attack Reimov was given two sleeping pills and three citramon pills (tablets of aspirin, paracetamol and caffeine).
In March 2024 Freedom for Eurasia reported that Reimov’s life and well-being was threated in prison. He has been intimidated by the prison’s head, Anvorov Doston, and unidentified men, possibly linked to Uzbek special services (SNB), warning him to stop seeking assistance from human rights organizations. Additionally, Reimov has been threatened with violence from other inmates due to his ethnicity.
At the same time, Uzbek authorities continue persecuting Reimov’s family members. In July 2024, Uzbek authorities refused to issue biometric passports to Reimov’s wife Kalbike Sidavlaeva and son Saifatdin Reimov, presumably to prevent them from attending the OSCE Human Dimension Conference in Warsaw in autumn. ‘Objections’ from a government department were cited as the reason for the refusal.
