The European Union welcomes the release on parole of Ms Tadjibaeva, a well-known human rights defender in Uzbekistan. It encourages the Uzbek authorities to grant her a full pardon. The EU hopes that Ms Tadjibaeva could travel abroad to receive the 2008 Martin Ennals Prize, which is awarded every year to a person who has demonstrated his/her commitment in the fight against human rights violations. The EU also calls upon Uzbek authorities to release immediately all human rights defenders and prisoners whose situation has been brought to the attention of the Uzbek authorities by the EU.
The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as the Republic of Moldova align themselves with this declaration.
* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.
