Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) - In response to numerous requests regarding the participation of lawyers in the defense of Gulnara Karimova, Prosecutor General’s Office explained that all of them are citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan, are employed by her close relatives and have licenses to practice law, issued in the established order of justice.

Interaction with lawyers is carried out on the basis of the norms of the Code of Criminal Procedure, complaints and motions regarding the restriction of their rights to protect their client have been received.

Regarding the Swiss lawyer Grégoire Mangeat, who positions himself as a lawyer of Gulnara Karimova, in accordance with the current legislation, the activities of foreign lawyers in Uzbekistan are not provided.

At the same time, the mandate of the foreign lawyer Grégoire Mangeat, issued by the Swiss authorities, was limited to the criminal case under investigation against G. Karimova in Switzerland and his stay in the Republic of Uzbekistan became possible only at the request of the Swiss authorities for mutual legal assistance.

Despite the opportunity, Grégoire Mangeat, while visiting his client in Uzbekistan, repeatedly violated the generally accepted rules of professional ethics of lawyers, expressed in escalating a situation of destructive nature, disseminating deliberately false information about prisons in Uzbekistan for the purpose of public relations.

It should be noted that access to penitentiary institutions is open, including for international human rights organizations, and their monitoring reports are regularly published.

In this connection, the Uzbek side, as a necessary measure, decided to deny the entry of the lawyer Grégoire Mangeat into the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Foreign lawyers of other accomplices of G. Karimova’s criminal case in Switzerland continue to freely communicate with their clients in the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan.