This is extremely rare for Uzbekistan, where Islam Karimov really puts the boot down. It seems that 4000 people have taken to the streets to protest the trials of several loca businessmen accused of “extremist activities.”

More than 4,000 residents of Andijon demonstrated for a second consecutive day in a row on 11 May (see “RFE/RL Newsline,” 11 May 2005) to protest the trial of 23 local businessmen for alleged extremist activity in the so-called Akramiy organization, uznews.net reported. Prosecutors have asked for prison terms ranging from three to seven years for 20 of the defendants, saying that the remaining three can go free; the defendants were to have delivered their closing remarks to the court on 11 May, with sentencing expected next week. The brother of one defendant told uznews.net, “We are ready to do anything in order to free our innocent brothers.” Police have not interfered in the demonstrations, which are unusual in their size and degree of organization, according to observers, the BBC’s Uzbek Service reported. DK

Due to this, the government backed down and both postponed the trials and reduced the charges. Here is an article describing the protestors desire for peaceful protest.

This is all occuring in the city of Andijan, and Nathan is reporting that over 100 gunmen have seized a prison in the city and released approximately 3000 prisoners. They then attacked a military garrison and drove the soldiers off. Make sure to read Nathan’s post and especially the comments section, where people in Uzbekistan are posting more information. Lyndon Allin has also translated an article that says troops are surrounding the c ity and preparing for a possible storm.

Troops are deploying around Andijan, where riots erupted on Friday. According to a report from Fergana.ru correspondent Alexey Volosevich given to RIA Novosti over the telephone, it’s possible that the city will be stormed this evening.

“There is no authority in the city,” reports the journalist. “One gets the impression that Andijan has been locked up and that the authorities are preparing a storm of the city, which can be expected closer to the evening.”

This is really an unprecedented situation that Uzbekistan has found itself in. We’ll be keeping an eye out as things develop. Remember to check back with Nathan at Registan.net as he, being the Central Asia blogger, is all over this.

Captain’s Quarters also has more thoughts on the possibility of Islamic extremism. For the gunmen, this looks like it could be the case.

UPDATE: I’m back now and have been reading everything that Nathan and Lyndon have posted along with regular news reports. I have a few thoughts, but first read RFE/RL’s story on economic demands by the protestors. As it notes, an impoverished people care most about improving their livelihood, and when they identify the government as the problem in that respect, it can prompt street demonstrations. There were several thousand people out there, and I doubt even a vast minority of those were Islamic extremists. However, the people on trial were accused of extremism, and it is very possible the the gunmen who initiated the firefight simply took advantage of the situation. The western media still isn’t doing much good for clearing up the station, so from this point on, we’re all still waiting to hear more. Lyndon has another article translated reflecting the accounts of reporters who survived the bullets being shot all over the place.