Uzbekistan’s embassy in Azerbaijan will open a book of condolences over the death of Uzbek President Islam Karimov.
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People throw flowers on limousines as they gather along a road to watch the funeral procession of President Islam Karimov in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, early Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016.
Mr. Karimov’s death was announced Friday by the Uzbek government, almost a week after news emerged of his hospitalization following a.
He also served as the head of Uzbek government in 1990-1992.
President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan has died at the age of 78, the country’s cabinet of ministers and parliament said in an official report that was read out on national television, according to TASS News Agency.
Russia’s president Vladimir Putin has described Karimov’s death as “a great loss for the people of Uzbekistan”.
Under the Uzbek constitution, if the president dies his duties pass temporarily to the head of the senate until an election can be held within three months.
President Islam Karimov’s funeral cortege made its way through the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, as thousands of people lined the city’s main road on Saturday morning.
Karimov’s wife, Tatyana Karimov, and his younger daughter, Lola Tillyaeva-Karimova, were walking behind the coffin.
Loyalist Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev headed the organising committee for the funeral, in a sign that he could be the frontrunner to take over long-term from Karimov.
Karimov was raised in an orphanage in the ancient city of Samarkand, before studying mechanical engineering and economics and rising up Communist Party ranks to become head of Soviet Uzbekistan in 1989.
Foreign dignitaries, including Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Stepan Kubiv, arrived in the country to attend the funeral ceremony, held in accordance with Islamic traditions.
Karimov’s death would “mark the end of an era in Uzbekistan, but nearly certainly not the pattern of grave human-rights abuses”, said Denis Krivosheev, deputy director for Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty International.
Right groups have repeatedly accused his regime of torturing opponents and using forced labour in the lucrative cotton sector.
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In the past 25 years, under Karimov’s leadership, Uzbekistan has witnessed social stability, economic development, improvement in people’s livelihood and worldwide status, with remarkable achievements in a wide range of areas, the Chinese vice premier added.
