Uzbekistan

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a CPJ press release: UZBEKISTAN: Authorities launch criminal inquiry of Internews New York, April 6, 2005 – The prosecutor-general’s office in Uzbekistan said yesterday it was investigating the Tashkent bureau of the media training and advocacy group Internews Network on criminal charges of operating without a license, according to international […]

(Adil Soz/IFEX) – Djamshid Karimov, a reporter with the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), was attacked by two unidentified men on the porch of his house in the early morning hours of 21 December 2004. He was knocked to the ground and kicked. The journalist was taken to Djizak hospital for treatment of […]

(WAN/IFEX) – The following is a 25 September 2004 WAN press release: Paris, 25 September 2004 Golden Pen Laureate Receives Asylum in United States Ruslan Sharipov, the 2004 laureate of the Golden Pen of Freedom press freedom prize, has been granted asylum in the United States after fleeing Uzbekistan in the face of serious threats […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a CPJ press release: UZBEKISTAN: Court shuts Internews ahead of parliamentary elections New York, September 14, 2004 – A court in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent shut the media training organization Internews-Uzbekistan yesterday for six months for violating a law regulating non-governmental organizations, according to local and international press reports. […]

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is an ARTICLE 19 press release: UZBEK LAWS RESTRICT FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND INFORMATION ARTICLE 19 has published three Memoranda analysing Uzbekistan’s laws on: “Mass Media”, “Principles of and Guarantees for Freedom of Information” and “Protection of the State Secrets” (1). As the Memoranda make clear, these laws are in […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 4 August 2004 CPJ press release: UZBEKISTAN: A journalist released, but struggling New York, August 4, 2004-Uzbek authorities have released Madzid Abduraimov, a journalist with the national weekly Yangi Asr, who was imprisoned for three years after criticizing authorities in the southern Surkhandarya region. Abduraimov said he is struggling […]

(RSF/IFEX) – On 23 June 2004, a district court in Khamzinski (Tashkent region) sentenced journalist Ruslan Sharipov to two years community service in the city of Bukhara, in central Uzbekistan, at the end of an in camera trial. In a letter to President Islam Karimov, RSF condemned “the serious violation of the right to a […]

(WAN/IFEX) – In a 16 June 2004 letter to President Islam Karimov, WAN and the World Editors Forum (WEF) expressed outrage at the continued detention of journalist Ruslan Sharipov and called on him to ensure the journalist’s immediate release. According to reports, Sharipov was eligible for early release on 11 June. But the review commission […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 15 June 2004 letter to President Islam Karimov, CPJ expressed concern over Uzbek authorities’ failure to meet their commitment to review the case of Ruslan Sharipov, an independent journalist and human rights activist. He is currently serving a four-year prison sentence for sodomy and having sexual relations with minors. The Uzbek […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has urged the Uzbek authorities to make use of legal provisions allowing for his amnesty to immediately release journalist Ruslan Sharipov, now that he has served one-third of his sentence. The call was issued after the government commission responsible for executing sentences met on 12 June to consider the possibility of commuting […]

(Freedom House/IFEX) – The following is a 10 May 2004 Freedom House press release: CENTRAL ASIAN GOVERNMENTS MUST LIFT RESTRICTIONS ON PRESS FREEDOM May 10, 2004, NEW YORK – The continuing infringement on media freedom in Central Asia is one of the major human rights abuses plaguing the region, Freedom House said today. According to […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned the recent threats by the National Security Services (SNB) against Tulkin Karaev, the Kachdaria correspondent for the British media training organisation Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) and the Uzbek service of the Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran radio station. The SNB has warned Karaev that he […]

(WAN/IFEX) – The following is a WAN press release: Paris, 2 April 2004 Golden Pen Laureate Faces Harassment in Uzbekistan The World Association of Newspapers has learned that Uzbek authorities are continuing to harass journalist Ruslan Sharipov and fears that the authorities intend to transfer him back to a high security prison from house arrest […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 17 March 2004 CPJ press release: UZBEKISTAN: Imprisoned journalist transferred to house arrest March 17, 2004, New York-Uzbek authorities have allowed imprisoned journalist Ruslan Sharipov, who has been jailed since May 2003, to complete his sentence under house arrest. On Friday, March 12, the Uzbek Foreign Ministry announced that […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has urged European Commissioner for External Relations Chris Patten to raise the issue of press freedom and the cases of five jailed journalists during his 18 to 19 March 2004 visit to Uzbekistan. Patten is expected to meet with President Islam Karimov in Tashkent. The organisation highlighted the case of journalist and […]

(RSF/IFEX) – On 22 December 2003, National Prisons Administrator Mikhail Gurevich announced that jailed journalist Ruslan Sharipov would not be included in a general amnesty announced by President Islam Karimov on 1 December, because his crime is considered “too serious.” The journalist, press freedom and human rights campaigner has been imprisoned since 26 May. On […]