(JuHI/IFEX) – On 12 July 2001, Ruslan Sharipov, president of the newly launched Union of Independent Journalists of Uzbekistan and correspondent for the Russian news agency “Prima”, was attacked by a group of National Security Service (NSS) of Uzbekistan employees. In a phone conversation with JuHI, Sharipov said that while he was on his way […]
(JuHI/IFEX) – On 12 July 2001, Ruslan Sharipov, president of the newly launched Union of Independent Journalists of Uzbekistan and correspondent for the Russian news agency “Prima”, was attacked by a group of National Security Service (NSS) of Uzbekistan employees.
In a phone conversation with JuHI, Sharipov said that while he was on his way to the city courthouse in Tashkent he noticed a group of eight persons running and calling him. Sharipov identified four of them as NSS employees because they had been following him during the past few months.
When Sharipov tried to run away, they surrounded him and one individual tried to beat him over the head with an unidentified object. However, many other passers-by were present and they helped him escape his attackers. Sharipov caught a taxi and asked “to get away from this place.” The NSS employees could not stop him due to the people’s presence. They then followed the taxi and captured the taxi driver, taking him in an unknown direction. The journalist took refuge in the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s local Tashkent office and contacted the United States Embassy. Further details are not available yet.
