(JuHI/IFEX) – As previously reported, Oleg Sarapulov, a freelance journalist and deputy executive director of the Union of Independent Journalists of Uzbekistan (UIJU), was detained by Uzbek militiamen claiming that he was homeless. On 13 March 2002, UIJU reported that Sarapulov was released. The journalist stated that he was mistreated while in detention. According to […]
(JuHI/IFEX) – As previously reported, Oleg Sarapulov, a freelance journalist and deputy executive director of the Union of Independent Journalists of Uzbekistan (UIJU), was detained by Uzbek militiamen claiming that he was homeless. On 13 March 2002, UIJU reported that Sarapulov was released. The journalist stated that he was mistreated while in detention.
According to Sarapulov, on 6 March two unidentified men knocked on his door and demanded that he let them in. The journalist asked them to first identify themselves. They refused and forced their way into his home. Sarapulov later learned that the intruders were militiamen from the Yakasaray Internal Affairs Department (IAD) of Tashkent. He was beaten at the IAD offices by a militia member named Kenzha. He was then taken to a private home in Tashkent, which reportedly was the residence of the special receiver for homeless people. The journalist believes that he was detained due to his professional activities as a journalist. He also attributes his release to the intervention of national and international organisations.
