Douwe Korff: This shameful sacking by our supine Foreign Office

Craig Murray's courageous stand against the use of torture and the denial of fundamental rights in Uzbekistan was an inspiration. His sacking as Britain's ambassador to Tashkent, where he carried out his duties with integrity for more than two years, is a supine act by the Government. It sends a disastrous message to the president of that republic.

The former states of the Soviet Union hardly stand up as a model of human rights. In Central Asia, the situation is particularly dire. Treating its authoritarian leaders, who have exchanged their communist colours for the mantle of nationalism, with kid gloves can only be counterproductive.

When Ambassador Murray arrived in Tashkent, he was a breath of fresh air. I can still remember a highly undiplomatic speech he delivered at Freedom House in 2002. He had not been long in the post, and obviously spoke with the backing of the Foreign Office. He quoted Robbie Burns, saying that "whisky and freedom gae together," and added: "I don't need to say that it's difficult to find a good whisky in Tashkent." He challenged the authorities to prove him wrong, and allow his speech to be published in Tashkent. Of course, it wasn't. But the speech demonstrated that he understood that you won't get anywhere with the government of President Karimov unless you lay things on the line.

He gave me faith in a British Foreign Office, which one too often suspects of being cautious and timid, more interested in trade and "stability" than in standing up for fundamental, universal values. More importantly, he gave hope to the people of Uzbekistan: in a country in which public demonstrations relating to human rights are a rarity (for obvious reasons), ordinary Uzbeks came out to demonstrate in his support. He believes that you won't change things by being like the old Foreign Office. But the seeds of his downfall were probably in that speech.

I met him during my visits as an expert for the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and took great pleasure in our talks because I thought that he could make a difference. The Foreign Office should have been proud that, for once, one of its representatives was so clearly welcomed and admired by the people of the country where he was based. But sadly, it has chosen a different track, seeming to backpedal on legitimate human rights demands in favour of co-operation in the war on terror and Britain's relationship with the US.

While the US has cut some aid to Uzbekistan, military aid and training have not been affected - sending another wrong signal to the Uzbek leadership. Karimov is able to play America along by exploiting the war on terror to keep himself and his family in power. He feels that he does not need to improve his human rights record because he is big friends with the Americans now. But that could change if the West stood up to the bully of Tashkent.

Whoever replaces Ambassador Murray, their first message should be that there has been no fundamental shift in Britain's approach to human rights. But they have to say it publicly so that Karimov believes it. The European Union has leverage in central Asia, whose republics want to open trade links with the West.

As an expert for the OSCE, I have carried out extensive training of judges, prosecutors and investigators in Uzbekistan in how to comply with international standards, and I worked closely with my former colleague and mentor, Professor Theo van Boven, then UN Rapporteur on Torture, in trying to change the system to eradicate the appalling, systematic use of torture in the country. I can confirm that everything Ambassador Murray has said about the use of statements obtained through torture is true. His views should be the views of any right-thinking person representing a democratic government.

For the Foreign Office to regard his stand as so eccentric as to make it impossible for him to remain in the post says more about the Government than about him. It undermines all attempts to fight torture in Uzbekistan and elsewhere, and signals a retreat from morality and a commitment to human rights in foreign policy.

I have visited Uzbekistan and have seen for myself Karimov's victims. I cannot stress strongly enough how important it is to stand up to the use of torture. Karimov is no wacky dictator. He is a ruthless and cunning man. The only thing that will make any impression on this leader is public pressure. I salute and support Craig Murray - a brave and honourable man, and a better ambassador for the values which this country proclaims than his masters will ever be. Shame on them.

The writer is professor of law at London Metropolitan University