There is grave concern for the safety of Mikhail Ardzinov, the chairman of the Independent Human Rights Organization of Uzbekistan (NOPCHU). During a search of his apartment by officers from the Tashkent City Department of Internal Affairs (GUVD) on 25 June 1999, he was detained and reportedly seriously assaulted by plainclothes GUVD officers, sustaining injuries including two broken ribs, concussion and contused kidneys, which were detailed in a medical certificate issued by the medical officer of the United States Embassy in Tashkent. He has been called for questioning again at the GUVD, but has reportedly gone on hunger-strike and is refusing to leave his apartment.
