Index on Censorship » Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan: Activist Karamatov released

Index on Censorship — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:50:35 +0000

Alisher Karamatov, a member of teh Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan, was released from prison on 13 April, having served almost six years of a nine-year sentence. Karamatov was found guilty of extortion and imprisoned in 2006, but independent observers believe the charges were trumped up and he was peresecuted for his human rights monitoring work. According to Human Rights Watch, “at least 10 ” human rights defenders remain in prison in Uzbekistan.

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Uzbekistan: Growing concern over targeting of independent journalists

Alice Purkiss — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 15:43:55 +0000

A number of incidents in the last few weeks have raised concerns over the harassment of journalists in Uzbekistan. On 26 March, independent journalist Viktor Krymzalov was convicted of defamation for an article which was published without a byline. The plaintiff “assumed” it was written by Krymzalov, but no evidence was provided to support the claim. Journalist Elena Bondar was charged with with “inciting national, racial, ethnic or religious hatred,” after sending letters to the media about alleged government harassment. Novaya Gazeta journalist Victoria Ivleva was recently denied entry to the country.

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Uzbekistan: Novaya Gazeta columnist deported

Marta Cooper — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 14:30:23 +0000

Former Novaya Gazeta columnist Victoria Ivleva was deported from Uzbekistan in an incident she believes is linked to her work. Ivleva flew to Tashkent for a photo workshop last Friday, but was not allowed to leave the airport. She was then refused a meeting with the Russian consul and put on a flight back to Russia. Ivleva has said she believes the deportation was linked to an article she wrote almost five years ago about Uzbekistan called The Country of Fish. She has also expressed support for photographer Umida Akhmedova, who was persecuted by the authorities for a photo collection that highlighted gender inequality in Uzbekistan.

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Uzbekistan: Charges dropped against freelance journalist

Alice Purkiss — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 11:32:00 +0000

All charges against freelance journalist Elena Bondar in Uzbekistan have been dropped. Bondar was detained at Tashkent airport on 22 August returning from a journalism seminar in Kyrgyzstan, she was told she faced prosecution because she did not declare professional material that was seized from her.

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Uzbekistan: Freelance journalist under investigation

Marta Cooper — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 09:10:20 +0000

Elena Bondar, an Uzbekistani freelance journalist who was briefly detained at Tashkent airport last week, has been notified that she is to be prosecuted for not declaring the professional material that was seized from her at the time, and that it will be examined by a censorship committee. When interrogated again for three hours on 27 August, Bondar was told that she is to be prosecuted under articles of the customs law and the civil code for failing to declare the four USB flash drives, three CDs and two video cassettes that were taken from her when she landed in the Uzbek capital on 22 August. She is facing a possible fine on these charges.

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Uzbekistan: Journalist detained at airport

Marta Cooper — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 10:28:28 +0000

Uzbek journalist Elena Bondar was detained at the arrivals area of Tashkent airport after attending a course on modern journalism tools organised by OSCE and Deutsche Welle in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. After a thorough examination of her documents and baggage, customs officials let the journalist go home, but confiscated CDs and USB flash drives with training materials.

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Uzbekistan: Activist detained over article critical of bank cards system

Marta Cooper — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 11:31:00 +0000

A rights activist in central Uzbekistan says she was detained on 15 August for an article in which she criticised the government requirement that citizens use state-issued bank cards for cash withdrawals or purchases. Saida Kurbanova told RFE/RL she was summoned to the Pakhtakor district police station in Jizzakh Province where she was “dragged up the stairs” by officers. She was released after several hours. Kurbanova added that police told her she is being sued for libel over the article she wrote and posted online in March about the difficulties faced by people using the state-issued cards.

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Uzbekistan: Journalist hospitalised, ends hunger strike

Sarah Cox — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 14:45:59 +0000

Saodat Omonova, one of two women journalists protesting media censorship in Uzbekistan, has ended her hunger strike after being hospitalised earlier this week. It had been 16 days since Omonova and colleague, Malohat Eshonqulova, had begun their hunger strike after they were arrested and fined for protesting outside the presidential palace. The pair were were fired from state television channel Yoshlar last December, three days after they staged protests against media censorship. They are still fighting a court battle to appeal their initial dismissal.

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Uzbekistan: Journalists fined and detained for press censorship protest

Sarah Cox — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:51:04 +0000

Uzbek journalists, Malohat Eshonqulova and Saodat Omonova, have been detained and fined 2.94 million soms (around £1000) for holding an unauthorized protest on Monday morning. The two women, who have now begun a hunger strike, held up placards in front of the presidential palace in Tashkent which read “Dear Islam Karimov, please grant us an audience”. The pair were arrested after around four hours of protesting on 27 June, a day officially marked by Uzbekistan as the “Day of Media Workers“. Eshonqulova and Omonova were fired from state television channel Yoshlar last December, three days after they staged protests against media censorship and are still fighting a court battle to appeal their dismissal.

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Uzbekistan: Libel trial raises questions over EU conduct

Intern — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 16:59:03 +0000

Recent developments in a libel trial involving Uzebkistan’s first family have raised concerns about the EU’s involvement with the Karimov family. The claim was brought by President Karimov’s daughter, Lola, against French website Rue89 after one reporter branded her father a “dictator”. Documents produced in court last week, which were originally intended to establish the credibility of the family, have raised questions about why the EU was communicating with Lola Karimov-Tillyaeva about the allocation of $3.7m worth of charitable funding.

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