On August 18, 1999, a regional court in Tashkent convicted six Uzbek citizens on charges stemming from the February 16, 1999 car bombings in Tashkent.

While the defendants were arrested as suspects in the bombings, they were actually convicted of insulting Uzbekistan's president, of conspiracy against the Uzbek constitution, and of membership in illegal organizations. The six received sentences ranging from eight to fifteen years.

We note that the trial which these individuals received was closed to the public; neither family members nor, despite repeated official requests, officers from the U.S. embassy were permitted to attend the proceedings.

The manner in which this trial was conducted was highly irregular. The proceedings began before the defendants received formal notification of the charges against them, and the venue was changed in the midst of the trial.

The defendants have claimed that they were tortured while in custody and that their confessions, which formed the basis for the convictions, were extracted under duress.

International and domestic human rights organizations were denied access to the defendants during the trial.

As a Participating State in the OSCE, Uzbekistan has assumed important human rights commitments, including ensuring the right to a fair and public judicial process.

Uzbekistan has failed to honor these commitments in the trial and conviction of these six defendants, in particular, its commitments in the Charter of Paris and the 1990 Copenhagen Document.

We urge the Government of Uzbekistan to respect its OSCE commitments to provide a fair and open judicial process to its citizens.

On August 15 and 16, aircraft of the Uzbekistan armed forces conducted a bombing raid against armed Uzbek militants who were detected in Kyrgyzstan attempting to cross from Tajikistan to Uzbekistan.

Although the Government of Uzbekistan was responding to a Kyrgyz Government request to help them confront these militants on Kyrgyz territory, some of the bombs dropped in this action fell on the territory of Tajikistan.

We note that the Government of Uzbekistan admits the possibility that its aircraft were involved in the attack on Tajik territory, but if true, that this was an error and not an intentional strike against Tajikistan.

Recently, aircraft of the Russian federation mistakenly bombed territory in Georgia during an operation against separatists in Dagestan. After a prompt Russian-Georgian joint investigation, the Government of Russia acknowledged responsibility and provided the Government of Georgia with a formal apology, and is reportedly considering the possibility of financial compensation to those who were injured.

We call on the Government of Uzbekistan to investigate fully the circumstances of its actions against the Uzbek militants in Kyrgyzstan. If its aircraft indeed attacked Tajikistan in error, it should acknowledge this fact and express its regret through appropriate means.

We further call on the Government of Uzbekistan to exercise restraint and caution in dealing with such matters, and to act in close cooperation and consultation with the governments of all neighboring countries.

The United States welcomes the news that six individuals imprisoned in connection with violations of Uzbekistan's religion law have been pardoned, and that the conviction of a seventh has been overturned.

These matters have been of continuing interest to the United States, and we are pleased that the Government of Uzbekistan has seen fit to resolve these cases in this manner.

We note that 19 new religious groups, whose applications for registration have been pending, have been registered. We commend Uzbekistan for taking this important step.

Respect for religious freedom is a core OSCE principle. We urge the Uzbek Government to continue working closely with the OSCE office in Uzbekistan to address concerns in area of human rights and religious freedom.