The General Prosecutor's Office of Uzbekistan commented on the activities of Gulnara Karimova’s Switzerland-based lawyer, Grégoire Mangeat.
The relations between the state bodies and lawyers is regulated by the Code of Criminal Procedure, complaints and petitions regarding the limitation of their rights to protect their client have been received.
“With regard to the Swiss lawyer Grégoire Mangeat, who declares himself as Gulnara Karimova’s lawyer, please be informed that in line with the valid regulations, foreign lawyers are prohibited from conducting activities in Uzbekistan. While, Grégoire Mangeat’s mandate, issued by the Swiss authorities as part of the criminal case against Gulnara Karimova, is limited to Switzerland and his stay in the Uzbekistan were possible only at the request of the Swiss authorities for mutual legal assistance,” the press service said.
In spite of the provided facility, Grégoire Mangeat, during a visit to his client in Uzbekistan, repeatedly violated the generally accepted rules of professional ethics of lawyers, which served to escalating of the situation, disseminating deliberately false information about prisons in Uzbekistan for PR purposes.
Due to the foregoing, the Uzbek authorities, as a necessary measure, decided to refuse to allow the lawyer Grégoire Mangeat to enter into the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
The statement added that prisons are open for everyone, including international human rights organizations, with their monitoring reports regularly published.
“Please note that the foreign-based lawyers of Gulnara Karimova’s accomplices are freely communicating with their clients in the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan,” the Prosecutor General’s Office concluded.
