March 8, 2009

Ruslan Sharipov,
Independent journalist

www.ruslansharipov.info

Dear Barack Obama,

Writing to you today, with the same request I addressed George Bush in the past, to put the end to the violence, attacks and threats to my address.

After living 4 years in the United States, numerous attacks, including attack with gun and knife, beatings, knife wounds and other injuries, inhuman treatment, violence and regular threats to my address in Sacramento, California still takes place.

In particular, during one of the attacks, attacker who presented himself as Michael, demonstratively hit me thus causing me physical injuries and broke parts of my vehicle before leaving the crime scene.

Attackers, in all cases of the attacks didn’t steal anything from me, which one more time proves the fact that all of them had the same purpose to cause me serious physical harm, injuries and threaten me.

It’s important to note, that all of these attacks took place in the center of Sacramento close by the Department of United States Homeland Security and office of the California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Let me mention just few experiences I had with US authorities since my arrival to the United States.

While typing complaint and printing the article in college computer lab about the lawyer defending homeless people who were given tickets by Sacramento Police Department, police officer came up to me and demanded my identification document. Officer demanded to leave and escorted me from computer lab saying that activities of students on computers in college are monitored and asked me not to come back that day. As a result of this incident and other pressure against me in Sacramento College I had to quit my studies.

In a different case, when drugs were planted into my car, sheriff officer stopped me unexpectedly, handcuffed me and searched my vehicle saying that drugs were discovered there. Soon after that I was stopped again by sheriff officer who told me ”fuck you” besides others behavior in the presence of other 2 sheriffs.

Such behavior of US authorities not only humiliates me but also represents official government threats to my address.

Several years I was criticizing the Department of United States Homeland Security for official threats to deport me to Uzbekistan and absence of green card which I was supposed to receive in 2005-2006 after my arrival to US in 2004 as a legal refugee.

Besides writing to international organizations back in 2007, I also wrote to US Congress and Senate. The representatives of US Congress and Senate promised to send me the results of their inquiry to the Department of US Homeland Security.

However, I didn’t receive such a response from US Congress and Senate, while physical threats and attacks against me, after all my letters to US authorities, became more brutal and violent and I hardly escaped kidnapping attack under gun point when my nose was broken and my ear was cut with knife besides all other injuries caused to me during the attack.

US Law enforcement agencies do not return my phone calls transferring my calls to answering machine and do not tell me if anything has been done to find and punish attackers.

Dear Barack Obama,

Since my appeals to George Bush, US Congress and Senate were ignored, I hope you will use your power and authority to finally put the end to physical violence, inhuman treatment and threats against me.

It’s not just very unpleasant but also dangerous and harmful for health to go through these violent attacks and deal with regular threats and inhuman treatment.

I want to live and walk outside without constant harassment and violence.

Finally, let me quote a citation from the website of International Federation of Journalists:

"There can be no press freedom if journalists exist in conditions of poverty or fear…"

Sacramento, California, USA
sharipovruslan3@gmail.com