Today, the 24th of January 2011, Hizb ut Tahrir Europe organized a demonstration against the visit of Karimov, president of Uzbekistan, in front of the Uzbek Embassy in Brussels.

Hundreds came to show their support for Hizb ut Tahrir and to confront Karimov, for his crimes against Islam, the Muslims and humanity in Uzbekistan.

Speakers highlighted the various crimes of Karimov and his regime, including the mass murder on the 13th May 2005 when he ordered his special security forces to attack unarmed protestors in Andijan; thousands of people, including many members of Hizb ut Tahrir, were killed.

The Andijan massacre is part of a much broader pattern of oppression that has characterized Karimov’s rule. These include the severe torture of independent Muslims and members of Hizb ut Tahrir’s prisoners. The severe mutilations that some suffered resulted in the death of many innocent people. The silence of Western governments against these crimes has been deafening.

Furthermore, one of the speakers highlighted how the European Union (EU) and NATO revealed their real face by inviting and welcoming this tyrant. Western governments do not care about the fate of the Muslims of Uzbekistan or anywhere else. Rather, they support unelected dictators in order to secure energy contracts and other profitable interests. Regimes like Karimov’s in Uzbekistan were given the free hand to attack Islam and the Muslims and the ‘International community’ has turned a blind eye to it.

Hizb ut Tahrir Europe condemned the regime’s imprisonment of thousands of members of Hizb ut Tahrir and other Muslims and demanded their immediate release.

Our message to Karimov and his regime is that we have promised Allah (swt) that we will never bow our heads before any tyrant and will continue to speak the truth with patience and firmness and work tirelessly to re-establish Al Khilafah Ar Rashidah