Attacks on the Press 2001: Uzbekistan
Torture of political and religious dissidents remains commonplace under the brutal regime of President Islam Karimov. In February, writer Emin Usman died in detention, and the July death of imprisoned human rights activist Shovriq Rusimorodov confirmed the deteriorating political situation. Karimov has also cracked down on civil liberties by jailing thousands of Muslims under the…
Attacks on the Press 2001: Journalists in Prison
There were 118 journalists in prison around the world at the end of 2001 who were jailed for practicing their profession. The number is up significantly from the previous year, when 81 journalists were in jail, and represents a return to the level of 1998, when 118 were also imprisoned.
Journalist freed
New York, January 17, 2002—Shodi Mardiev, the Uzbek radio reporter who was sentenced in 1998 to an 11-year prison term for defamation and extortion, was released under an amnesty earlier this month, according to local and international sources. The journalist’s lawyer, Khakim Bobonorov, who met with Mardiev shortly after his release, told CPJ in a…
Independent television station head flees country
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an independent organization of journalists dedicated to the defense of our colleagues around the world, is deeply concerned by the criminal charges of forgery against TV ALC director Shukhrat Babadjanov.
CPJ testifies before U.S. Congress on press freedom conditions in Central Asia
New York, July 19, 2001–A CPJ representative testified before a joint congressional subcommittee yesterday about the terrible state of press freedom in Central Asia. [Read the transcript] “Repression and violence, or the threat thereof, are ever present for many reporters, encouraging self-censorship as a survival mechanism,” CPJ Washington representative Frank Smyth told the joint hearing…
Government harasses relatives of VOA reporter
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a nonpartisan organization of journalists dedicated to the defense of our colleagues around the world, is writing to protest your government’s efforts to silence the U.S.-based Voice of America journalist Jahongir Mamatov by harassing his relatives in the Uzbek city of Samarkand.
Attacks on the Press 2000: Uzbekistan
AS PRESIDENT ISLAM KARIMOV’S GOVERNMENT CONTINUED its harsh crackdown on Islamic militants, officials kept local media on a tight leash. Uzbek human rights workers, themselves targets of bureaucratic harassment and violence, condemned numerous violations of the rights of their fellow citizens, including journalists. In April, CPJ raised the plight of three imprisoned Uzbek journalists in…
Attacks on the Press in 2000: Journalists in Prison
EIGHTY-ONE JOURNALISTS WERE IN PRISON AROUND THE WORLD at the end of 2000, jailed for practicing their profession. The number is down slightly from the previous year, when 87 were in jail, and represents a significant decline from 1998, when 118 journalists were imprisoned. While jailing journalists can be an effective means of stifling bad…
Jailed reporter’s health deteriorates
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) appeals to you to release our colleague Shodi Mardiev on humanitarian grounds. We wrote to you on January 12, 2000, with a similar request. Since that time, Mardiev’s health has deteriorated even further.
Attacks on the Press 1999: Europe & Central Asia Analysis
By Chrystyna Lapychak Wars in Yugoslavia and Chechnya dominated regional and international headlines in 1999. The conflicts raised the journalists’ death toll in the region and prompted crackdowns, as governments blocked access to war zones and engaged in propaganda campaigns.