E/CN.4/2006/5/Add.1 Page 91 pilgrimages. Accordingly, 5,000 pilgrims are due to travel from Uzbekistan to Saudi Arabia in 2006. There are no restrictions on pilgrimages. 432. The Uzbek Government arranges essential assistance for pilgrims. Uzbek pilgrims fly to Saudi Arabia on charter flights laid on by the Uzbek khavo iullari air company, which has the best fleet of aircraft in the region. Ticket prices are kept as low as possible and special teams of cooks and doctors fly to Saudi Arabia to attend to their needs. Regarding the claims that Shiite Muslims face restrictions in making the haj, it may be safely said that no such complaints have been received when pilgrims have left for Saudi Arabia during the post-independence period. 433. In the course of an inquiry conducted by the competent bodies, the reports of increasing trials against devout Muslims were found to be without substance. The Government confirmed that on 17 February, Tashkent regional criminal court convicted Abdurashid Toshmatov and Nurali Umrzokov and sentenced them to six years’ imprisonment. The judgment stated that Abdurashid Toshmatov and Nurali Umrzokov were found guilty of storing and disseminating material containing religious extremism, separatism and fundamentalism. The material called for unconstitutional change to the political system, the seizure of power and the removal of the authorities. 434. The guilt of the two men is confirmed by evidence including the confiscation of the literature from their possession, witness testimony, expert opinion and other elements of the case file. The Government further informed that the case file contains no evidence that any physical or mental pressure was applied to the convicted persons. The two men did not submit any complaints to the prosecutorial agencies during the preliminary investigation or the trial. The Government informed that on appeal the sentences of the two men were commuted to three year’s deprivation of liberty at an open prison. 435. The allegations that eight other individuals referred to in the communication made no attempts to change the country’s religious life by spreading their views to other Muslims are without justification. According to the judicial decisions, Mr. Kudratov, Mr. D. Yuldashev, Mr. B. Yuldashev, Mr. Asretdinov, Mr. Nurmatov, Mr. Ziyaev and Mr. Egamberdiev were found guilty on the grounds that between 2002 and 2004 they were involved in the activities of the Wahhabi sect. They met regularly in each other’s homes to study extremist literature and other material calling for change to Uzbekistan’s political system. The guilt of the convicted persons is confirmed by evidence including the confiscated literature, the testimony of witnesses, expert opinion and other elements of the case file. The Appeals Chamber of Tashkent City Court ruled that the verdicts were justified and upheld them. Mr. Ermatov was granted an amnesty by a Presidential Decree of 1 December 2004. Communication sent on 8 July 2005 with the Special Rapporteur on torture 436. The Special Rapporteurs brought to the attention of the Government the situation of Mr. Kural Bekjanov, a nineteen-year-old Pentecostal Christian from Tashkent, who was arrested on 14 June 2005 and taken to Mirobad District Police Station. He was accused of involvement in the murder of a 65-year-old US citizen of Korean origin, Kim Khen Pen Khin, who had worked with Pentecostal churches in