Akrom Yoʻldoshev
{{short description|Uzbekistani terrorist (1963–2010/2011)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Akram Yuldashev
| birth_name = Akramjon Yo{{okina}}ldashev
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1963|06|25}}
| birth_place = Andijon, Uzbek SSR
| death_date = 2010/2011
| death_place = Uzbekistan
| nationality = Uzbekistan
| other_names = Akram Yol{{okina}}ldoshev
| known_for = Involvement in Islamism
| occupation = Math teacher
}}
Akrom Yo{{okina}}ldoshev or Akramjon Yo{{okina}}ldoshev or Akram Yuldashev (Russian: Акрам Юлдашев; Uzbek: Акром Йўлдошев; Akram Yuldashev; June 25, 1963 – 2010/2011) was the founder of Akromiya, an Islamist organization that operates in Uzbekistan. The Uzbek government has designated and banned Akromiya as a terrorist.[https://web.archive.org/web/20050608074734/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/GE17Ag03.html Islamic blame game Asia Times]
Early life
Yo{{okina}}ldoshev was a native of Andijan, Uzbekistan and was trained as an engineer.{{Cite book| last = Khalid| first = Adeeb| title = Islam after communism: religion and politics in Central Asia| publisher = University of California Press| year = 2007| location = Berkeley, California| pages = 193–196| isbn = 9780520242043| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=aFdOHgV6PnsC&q=%22Akrom+Yo%E2%80%98ldoshev%22&pg=PA193}} He worked as a math teacher and for a furniture company in Andijan, before forming Akromiya. In 1992 he published Iymonga Yul, a pamphlet advocating Islamic values that gained him support among the populace.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}} Uzbek police arrested him in April, 1998 for possession of narcotics. A court sentenced him to 30 months imprisonment, but the government released him in December 1998 due to an amnesty.
Involvement in Islamism
Police arrested him in February 1999, the day after the 1999 Tashkent bombings that killed 16 people, accusing him of involvement. A court sentenced him to 17 years imprisonment for heading Akromiya.
Critics of the Uzbek government doubted that he was guilty of the charges against him. Scott Horton of the Columbia Law School has said "There's nothing that involves a challenge to government."{{Cite news | last = Aizenman| first = N.C. | title = The Eye of the Uzbek Storm: Officials Blame Humble Spiritual Leader for Revolt Despite Doubts of Many| newspaper =The Washington Post| location = Washington, DC| date = May 29, 2005 | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/28/AR2005052800870.html| access-date = March 20, 2011}} Alisher Ilkhamov, an Uzbek who is a sociologist at the University of London, said "The government perceives any grass-roots movement with hostility, whether it's Islamic or not". These critics claimed that "the fierce response to Yuldashev stems from the government's deep fear of any religious group that operates without official sanction".
In 2005, an armed uprising took place in Andijan. Among the demands was the release of Akrom Yo{{okina}}ldoshev. The Uzbek government cracked down, and several hundred civilians were killed in the events that ended the uprising.{{Cite book | last = Rubin| first = Barry| author-link = Barry Rubin| title = Guide to Islamist Movements, Volume 1| publisher = M.E. Sharpe| year = 2009| pages = 176–177| isbn = 9780765641380| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=wEih57-GWQQC&q=%22Akram+Yuldashev%22&pg=PA176}}
Family
His wife, Yodgoroy Yo{{okina}}ldosheva, has lived in Boise, Idaho, United States along with 52 other refugees since the Andijan massacre in May 2005. Yo{{okina}}ldoshev has appeared on state-run television three times, apologizing for encouraging the unrest and telling refugees they should return to Uzbekistan. Yo{{okina}}ldosheva herself has asked the Uzbek government for permission to return, but has not yet received an answer. His wife has denied Yo{{okina}}ldoshev had any ties to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, a militant organization affiliated with Al-Qaeda, or Hizb ut-Tahrir, another Islamist organization.
Death
Yo{{okina}}ldoshev's trial appearances in late 2005 were the last times anyone outside the government ever saw him. His fate remained a mystery until 2016.
International rights groups such as U.S.-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) repeatedly released statements calling on Uzbekistan's government to provide information on whereabouts of Yuldashev.
In January 2016, Uzbek Service announced that Yo{{okina}}ldoshev died in 2010/2011 of tuberculosis while imprisoned.{{cite news|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/akram-yuldashev-is-dead-uzbekistan-andijon/27483648.html |title=Akram Yuldashev Is Dead|newspaper=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=12 January 2016 |publisher=RFERL.org|access-date=12 January 2016}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20100412050256/http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/?fa=18453 The Andijan Uprising, Akramiya and Akram Yuldashev, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yoldashev, Akrom}}
Category:Uzbekistani Islamists
Category:Uzbekistani prisoners and detainees
Category:Prisoners and detainees of Uzbekistan
Category:People imprisoned on terrorism charges
Category:Uzbekistani criminals
Category:Date of death missing
Category:Year of death uncertain
Category:21st-century deaths from tuberculosis
Category:Tuberculosis deaths in Uzbekistan