(JuHI/IFEX) – According to information distributed by JuHI’s partner in Bishkek, the Kyrgyzstan Trade Union of Journalists, a journalist was violently beaten by customs officers on the border between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. “This attack on a correspondent of an international media company shows that the situation of journalists in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan is alarming and […]
(JuHI/IFEX) – According to information distributed by JuHI’s partner in Bishkek, the Kyrgyzstan Trade Union of Journalists, a journalist was violently beaten by customs officers on the border between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. “This attack on a correspondent of an international media company shows that the situation of journalists in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan is alarming and that speaking the truth is not favourable in these countries,” said Kuban Mambetaliyev, president of the Kyrgyzstan Trade Union of Journalists. He further asked for international attention towards the danger facing one of the union’s members.
The attack occurred after the broadcast of a radio programme by young Kyrgyz journalist Alisher Sayipov on the “Voice of America” station, in which he reported on the corruption of Uzbek custom workers.
In the evening of 28 September 2002, a young journalist (who wishes to remain anonymous) was returning from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, after attending a conference organized by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Open Society Institute. At approximately 11:00 p.m. (local time), he arrived at the Dustlik border post. He was told by the border guards that according to a special decree the border was closed at 9:00 p.m. The journalist asked to see the decree but the guards refused to show it to him.
When the journalist told the guards his profession, they started to accuse him of being a spy and “letting down the Fatherland.” After a 20 minute argument, a drunk individual, apparently a customs officer who refused to state his name or post, ordered the journalist’s detention. He ripped the journalist’s tie and shirt and started punching him, while surrounded by soldiers and Uzbek customs officers. The journalist was then taken into a separate room and told to get undressed. The customs officer searched the journalist’s pockets and found drugs, which had clearly been planted there.
The journalist was advised that he would be sent to jail. After a lengthy discussion, the customs officer let the journalist get dressed and told him he had sent two persons to the city of Osh to find Sayipov, who works for the “Voice of America” station. “They would rip the head off the governor himself for the $200 that I gave them,” the officer said proudly.
The journalist was subsequently released and managed to return home at around 2:00 a.m. He is currently in hospital and suffering from two broken ribs. He has been turning to international and national human rights organisations to help his friend Sayipov, whose life is in danger.
