Ex-British ambassador plans legal action
The Associated Press
October 15A British ambassador removed from his post after he criticized Uzbekistan's human rights record said Friday he planned to take legal action against the government over damage to his health.
Murray, who has been outspoken in his criticism of the Uzbek government's human rights record, said he had suffered a nervous breakdown and hypertension as a result of a campaign by British officials to oust him.
"I can't fight my removal from Tashkent," Murray, 45, told British Broadcasting Corp. radio.
"But plainly my career has suffered, and my health unfortunately has suffered very badly largely due to the stress brought on by the unfounded charges against me, and I have every intention of fighting that legally as hard as I can."
Murray spent more than two months in London last year receiving medical treatment for an undisclosed ailment after media reports emerged about his strong criticism of Uzbek President Islam Karimov's regime.
Murray said he was charged with disciplinary offenses, including sexual misconduct, in a bid by his superiors to oust him from his post.
"They found my position in Tashkent and the arguments I was advancing unacceptable, and they were looking for a reason to get rid of me," he said.
The Foreign Office said Murray's removal was not related to his allegations, reported by the Financial Times on Monday, that British and U.S. intelligence services were using information collected from persons tortured by Uzbekistan's security services.
Murray is an outspoken critic of human rights abuses in Uzbekistan, which has put more than 6,000 political prisoners in squalid jails where dozens of people have reportedly died of torture over the past several years.
The Central Asian country emerged as a key U.S. ally after the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States, and hosts hundreds of American troops supporting operations in neighboring Afghanistan.
Murray told the BBC he was a "victim of conscience" who had a duty to speak out.
"What worries me is that this sends a very strong signal that since the start of the war on terrorism anyone who even internally questions what is happening from a liberal standpoint is going to seriously damage their employment prospects," he said.