Fergananews.com reports that the Committee to Free Prisoners of Conscience of Uzbekistan has released an updated list of prisoners of conscience, now totaling 31.

The amnesty anticipated in connection with Uzbekistan's 20th anniversary of independence has not been applied to any of the civil society activists or political prisoners in the list.

"The Karimov regime has turned the cases of political prisoners and other civil society activists into a bargaining chip to use with Western governments to gain various political concessions," says the Committee.

For example, in connection with the visit to Uzbekistan in November 2011 by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Norboy Holjigitov and Jamshid Karimov were released from prison.

Still incarcerated are people like the popular radio commentator and poet Hayrullo Hamidov, arrested in April o f last year for "unlawful civic associations or religious organizations."

Note:  The 31 cases picked out here appear to be those persons about whom it is believed that they have not used or advocated violence. There are many thousands of religious prisoners in Uzbekistan prisons but little is known about their cases, they have been tried behind closed doors and often tortured to extract confessions–DS.