Uzbekistan's supreme court ruled on Monday that 15 defendants accused of leading an uprising last May were guilty of trying to overthrow the government and set up an Islamic state, as a trial denounced by independent observers as a sham drew to a close.
The court's chief justice, Bakhtiyor Zhamolov, read aloud the names of the defendants one by one, saying that they were guilty of attempting "to overthrow the Uzbek constitutional system in order to create an Islamic state" and of committing "serious crimes" to this end.
Guilty verdicts had been considered a foregone conclusion from the start of the hearing on September 20, likened by observers to a Stalinist show-trial with scripted confessions, pleas and testimony.
All defendants uniformly confessed and pleaded "fully guilty" to the charges brought against them.
But UN human rights experts said that the reliance on confessions, plus the fact that defendants recited a text drafted by prosecutors saying that they should be given the death penalty and that they had not been cross-examined by independent lawyers all pointed to possible use of torture.
It remained to be seen whether the three-judge panel would go along with the prosecution's formal request for all defendants to be jailed for 15 to 20 years.
The fact that the state prosecution did not itself demand the death penalty also pointed to a skewed trial, according to observers.
The reading of the verdict and pronouncement of sentences was expected to be a lengthy process, possibly lasting more than one day.
During the initial reading of the verdict, Zhamolov also accused unnamed "foreign forces", notably Western aid and media organizations, of using "human rights as a cover" for discrediting Uzbekistan and undermining the hardline regime of President Islam Karimov.
The defendants are charged with leading an attempted armed uprising in the Muslim ex-Soviet state's eastern city of Andijan during the night of May 12 to 13 - freeing 23 local businessmen accused under the country's harsh laws of connection to Islamic militant groups, then seizing control of government buildings.
The charges include murdering officials and members of the security forces, terrorism and violating the constitution.
According to the government 187 people, including soldiers, officials, civilians and fellow insurgents, died in the battle with security forces.
Human rights organizations and Western governments believe that hundreds more died and that most were civilians - including many demonstrating in support of the uprising - gunned down by Uzbek troops.
Karimov's government denies any massacre, but independent witnesses said that they saw civilians killed. Uzbekistan has resisted international pressure to allow an outside investigation.
In court only one witness has publicly challenged the official version.
Makhbuba Zokirova, a 33-year-old housewife, told the court that soldiers had attacked thousands of demonstrators who had gathered to demand better living standards and to support the insurgents.
The Uzbek president meanwhile was in Moscow where he and Russian President Vladimir Putin were due to sign an agreement aimed at fortifying a strategic alliance between the two former Soviet republics.
The agreement, under which Russia will be given use of Uzbek military facilities in exchange for security guarantees, "will seal an unprecedented military-political alliance" between the two countries, the liberal daily Kommersant said in a commentary.
Uzbek court says Andijan uprising suspects guilty
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