Committee to Protect Journalists - Uzbekistan

Attacks on the Press in 2011: Uzbekistan

2012-02-21T05:56:00Z

Authoritarian leader Islam Karimov marked Media Workers Day by calling for an independent domestic press, the state news agency UzA reported, but his long-standing policies of repression belied such statements. The regime is a persistent jailer of journalists, often ranking among the worst in the region. Embattled reporter Abdumalik Boboyev faced official obstruction when he tried to travel to Germany; officials cited his prosecution in 2010 on charges of “insulting the Uzbek nation” as reason. Two other reporters faced retaliation after they participated in media seminars outside Uzbekistan. In the face of official intimidation, domestic media complied with censorship regulations and refrained from covering the popular uprisings that swept the Middle East and North Africa. Mindful of the role the Internet played in the Arab revolutions, Uzbek authorities expanded their list of internally blocked news websites and created a state commission to censor content in the Uzbekistan domain.

Uzbek editor sentenced to jail while still in prison

2012-01-25T22:26:18Z

New York, January 25, 2012--The Committee to Protect Journalists is outraged by the politically motivated additional sentence handed to Muhammad Bekjanov, the jailed editor of now-defunct opposition newspaper Erk, who has been in prison in Uzbekistan since 1999 on trumped-up charges.

Embattled reporter prevented from leaving Uzbekistan

2011-05-25T20:01:53Z

New York, May 25, 2011--Uzbek authorities must stop harassing Abdumalik Boboyev, a stringer for the U.S. government-funded broadcaster Voice of America, and allow him to leave Uzbekistan, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Attacks on the Press 2010: Europe and Central Asia Analysis

2011-02-15T05:52:00Z

On the Runet, Old-School Repression Meets New

By Nina Ognianova and Danny O'Brien

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has often talked about the importance of a free press and free Internet, telling reporters before his election that the Web "guarantees the independence of mass media." He explicitly tied the two together in his first State of the Union address in November 2008, declaring that "freedom of speech should be backed up by technological innovation" and that no government official "can obstruct discussion on the Internet."

Attacks on the Press 2010: Uzbekistan

2011-02-15T05:06:00Z

Top Developments
• State deploys analysts to build sweeping criminal defamation cases.
• Numerous regional and international news websites are blocked.

Key Statistic
6: Journalists in prison on December 1, the highest figure in the region.

Even as President Islam Karimov was calling for more "active" news reporting, his government was rolling out a new tactic designed to quash critical journalism. Using an obscure state agency to formulate the charges, Uzbek prosecutors arrested at least three journalists on vague allegations of defamation. In one of the cases, a photographer was convicted of insulting the whole of Uzbek citizenry with her images of life in rural Uzbekistan.

EU should press Uzbekistan on news media crisis

2011-01-19T21:52:42Z

Dear President Barroso: We're writing in advance of your January 24 meeting in Brussels with Uzbek President Islam Karimov to urge you to raise Uzbekistan's grave press freedom conditions and to make clear to Karimov that any improvement of the country's relationship with Europe is dependent on him taking steps to fix the press freedom crisis. The European Union made clear it is committed to human rights in Central Asia in its 2009 plan, "The European Union and Central Asia: The New Partnership in Action."

Uzbekistan should drop charges against journalists

2010-10-08T21:19:15Z

Dear President Karimov: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by the politicized prosecution of two journalists: Abdumalik Boboyev, a stringer for the U.S. government-funded broadcaster Voice of America (VOA), and Vladimir Berezovsky, an editor for the news website Vesti.

Andijan police release independent journalist

2010-06-18T20:44:44Z

New York, June 18, 2010—We issued the following statement after police in the eastern Uzbek city of Andijan released independent Uzbek reporter Aleksei Volosevich after holding him without charge for three days; Volosevich was filming refugees from the unrest in Kyrgyzstan. Police confiscated his phone, footage, and audio recorder, Volosevich told CPJ.

Andijan police continue to hold independent journalist

2010-06-15T21:12:50Z

New York, June 15, 2010—We issued the following statement after confirming that police in the eastern Uzbek city of Andijan continue to hold independent Uzbek reporter Aleksei Volosevich for a third consecutive day. Volosevich had travelled to the border with Kyrgyzstan to report on the conditions for refugees, fleeing the bloody ethnic clashes between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz in Kyrgyzstan’s south, when he was arrested for unknown reasons on Sunday. His personal documents were not on him at the time, and his mobile phone is turned off.

Kyrgyz stations shut down, only state TV broadcasting

2010-06-14T22:15:26Z

New York, June 14, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists is disturbed by reports that local television stations in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh were ordered to cease transmission on Friday by the city government in the wake of interethnic violence in the region. Osh residents now have access only to the state television channel, KTR, and several Russian television channels, the independent news agency Zpress reported.

Government increases pressure on Uzbek journalists

2010-02-17T15:07:11Z

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply disturbed by your government’s intensified pressure on independent journalists in Uzbekistan.

Attacks on the Press 2009: Uzbekistan

2010-02-16T05:08:00Z

Top Developments
• Nation is a persistent jailer of journalists.
• Security agents enforce rigid censorship.

Key Statistic
4: Years EU human rights sanctions were in place before being lifted in 2009.

President Islam Karimov’s authoritarian government held at least seven journalists in prison, retaining its notorious distinction as the region’s leading jailer of journalists. Authorities harassed independent journalists, blocked critical news Web sites, and retained their tight grip on traditional media. Lawyers who defended journalists found themselves the targets of state retaliation as the country’s judicial system grew more punitive. While authorities kept a stranglehold on free expression at home, Uzbek diplomats insisted that their country’s actions were consistent with democratic principles.

Journalist charged with defaming Uzbeks, faces 8 years jail

2010-01-22T21:32:21Z

New York, January 22, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on the Uzbek authorities to immediately drop all charges against Umida Akhmedova, a prominent photojournalist and documentary filmmaker who covers gender, ethnic, and cultural issues, and allow her to continue to do her work without fear of reprisal.

Harassment of independent Uzbek journalists heats up

2010-01-15T18:55:19Z

New York, January 15, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Uzbek authorities today to immediately cease their campaign of intimidation against the handful of independent journalists remaining in the Central Asian country.

Uzbek appeals court should overturn harsh sentence

2009-09-03T20:53:25Z

New York, September 3, 2009--The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Samarkand Regional Court in central Uzbekistan to overturn on appeal a 12 and a half year jail sentence given to independent journalist Dilmurod Saiid. His appeal is scheduled for review September 8.