Image: “I want freedom” (handwritten over the flowers). The letters D.Razikova was writing while in detention Source: LHJ, Anhor.uz A complaint was subsequently lodged with the United Nations’ Human Rights Committee. It declined to consider the matter, stating: ‘The documents attached to the communication do not contain information that the judicial assessment was manifestly arbitrary or amounted to a manifest error or denial of justice, or that the courts in any other way violated their obligation of independence and impartiality (the courts decided to evict only in the second round, after the applicants were provided with alternative housing and compensation). Disagreement with the decision of the court is not in itself sufficient grounds for registering a communication.’121 This response from the Office of the United Nations Commission for Human Rights suggests a concerning lack of literacy both with respect to Uzbekistani law and the well-documented flaws in the national legal system. It also draws attention to the important role that courts in Uzbekistan play in facilitating property violations, by projecting a false sense of both legality and due process. This role is evidenced further in the next case study, focusing on a private property development taking place on Sadyk Azimov street. 121. Email communication from UN Human Rights Committee, 1 June 2021. 44 A False Sense of Legality

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