The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan has begun the process of media accreditation for local and foreign media representatives for participation in the High Level International Conference on the implementation of the International Decade for Action “Water for Life”, 2005-2015, which will take place in Dushanbe on June 9 — 11. Читать далее Announcement for Media Representatives →

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on Kyrgyz lawmakers to reject a bill requiring domestic NGOs that receive foreign funding and engage in «political activities» to register as «foreign agents.»

In a statement issued on May 21, the New York-based group said, «Such inappropriate and unjustified interference would be incompatible with the right to freedom of association.»

It said the bill “blatantly flouts” Kyrgyzstan’s national and international human rights commitments.

If adopted, HRW added, the bill will “only stigmatize” NGOs working in Kyrgyzstan.

The Kyrgyz parliamentary human rights committee voted on May 19 to send the bill to full parliament for debate, and its first reading is expected in the coming days.

In 2012, Russia passed similar legislation which human rights defenders and Western governments say has been used to crack down on independent groups.

http://www.rferl.org/content/hrw-calls-on-kyrgyz-to-reject-foreign-agents-bill/27029058.html

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on Kyrgyz lawmakers to reject a bill requiring domestic NGOs that receive foreign funding and engage in «political activities» to register as «foreign agents.»

In a statement issued on May 21, the New York-based group said, «Such inappropriate and unjustified interference would be incompatible with the right to freedom of association.»

It said the bill “blatantly flouts” Kyrgyzstan’s national and international human rights commitments.

If adopted, HRW added, the bill will “only stigmatize” NGOs working in Kyrgyzstan.

The Kyrgyz parliamentary human rights committee voted on May 19 to send the bill to full parliament for debate, and its first reading is expected in the coming days.

In 2012, Russia passed similar legislation which human rights defenders and Western governments say has been used to crack down on independent groups.

http://www.rferl.org/content/hrw-calls-on-kyrgyz-to-reject-foreign-agents-bill/27029058.html

Russia’s lower house of parliament has given final approval to a bill on so-called «undesirable organizations» that critics say will deal a fresh blow to a nongovernmental sector that already faces considerable pressure.

In a third and final reading on May 19, the heavily pro-Kremlin State Duma overwhelmingly approved the legislation, which would give Russian prosecutors the right to list as «undesirable» foreign organizations «posing a threat to Russia’s defense capabilities, security, public order, [or] public health.»

It must now be approved by the upper house in what precedent suggests will be little more than a formality, and then sent to President Vladimir Putin to be signed into law.

Under the bill, which the Kremlin’s own human rights ombudsman has opposed, individuals who work for such organizations inside Russia could be slapped with hefty fines or handed prison sentences of up to six years.

Human rights watchdogs have denounced the legislation. In a joint statement last week, when the Duma passed the bill in a crucial second reading, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said it would «bolster an ongoing draconian crackdown which is squeezing the life out of civil society.»

In 2012, Russia passed legislation that grants broad leeway for authorities to define nongovernmental groups that receive foreign funding as «foreign agents.»

The law on «undesirable organizations «puts those who don’t fall under the ‘foreign agents’ law on a knife edge,» veteran Russian human rights activist Lyudmila Alekseyeva told the Russian website Snob.ru.

Putin, who is accused of clamping down on NGOs with restrictive laws during his third term, recently repeated his accusation that Western secret services use nongovernmental organizations to «destabilize Russia.»

«The attempts by the Western secret services to use public, nongovernmental organizations and nonpolitical bodies to discredit the authorities and destabilize Russia’s internal situation continue,» he said at a March 26 meeting with senior officers of the Federal Security Service (FSB), the domestic successor of the Soviet KGB.

Under the legislation passed by the Duma on May 19, the decision to deem a foreign organization undesirable must be coordinated with Russia’s Foreign Ministry on the basis of materials and documents obtained from the Interior Ministry and security agencies.

The Justice Ministry would be tasked with compiling the «blacklist.»

Aleksandr Cherkasov, the head of Russia’s Memorial human rights center, told Snob.ru that the bill was written in such a «blurry» fashion that foreign organizations, media outlets, and NGOs already deemed «foreign agents» could be impacted.

«This law allows you to declare McDonald’s an ‘undesirable organization’ and fine anyone who cooperates with it, anyone who eats hamburgers,» Cherkasov said.

With reporting by AFP, Meduza.io, and Snob.ru

http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-duma-passes-undesirable-ngo-bill/27025310.html

WASHINGTON – Did pro-Kremlin activists beam images of Russian tanks onto the facade of the White House to protest what they call Washington’s efforts to prevent foreign leaders from traveling to Moscow to commemorate the defeat of Nazi Germany? Читать далее ‘Russian Tanks In Washington’ Video Triggers U.S. Secret Service Probe →

On World Press Freedom Day, Article 19 and its regional partners, Adil Soz, NANSMIT and Media Policy Institute call on the governments of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to ensure respect for the right to freedom of expression and to ensure that journalists can carry out their professional activities in a free and safe environment. Читать далее Central Asia: World Press Freedom Day →

The United States has urged Uzbekistan to release opposition journalist Muhammad Bekjanov, who has been imprisoned since 1999, and ease restrictions on journalists in the authoritarian Central Asian state.

«We call on the government of Uzbekistan to release Mr. Bekjanov and to take the steps necessary to create space for independent journalists to work without fear of violence,» U.S. State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke told a May 1 briefing in Washington.

Rights activists call Bekjanov, former editor of the opposition newspaper Erk, one of the longest-imprisoned journalists in the world.

Human Rights Watch says he was jailed after being kidnapped in Kyiv by Uzbek security forces in 1999 and that he has been tortured while in custody.

Uzbek President Islam Karimov has ruled Uzbekistan since 1989, two years before it gained independence in the collapse of the Soviet Union.

During that time, he has neutralized most of his political opposition, and his government has been accused of frequent human rights abuses.

The 77-year-old Karimov was reelected in a March 29 election with more than 90 percent of the vote, despite a constitutional restriction against any individual serving more than two terms in office.

Vote monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said the poll lacked a genuine opposition to Karimov and was marred by legal and organizational shortcomings.

Rathke, whose comments came ahead of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, noted that Bekjanov «is thought to have been arrested for his public criticism of President Karimov’s administration, and for his affiliation with a peaceful political opposition party.»

A report released by the U.S.-based watchdog Freedom House on April 29 cited Uzbekistan as among the world’s 10 worst countries and territories for press freedoms, alongside countries including Belarus, Russian-occupied Crimea, Iran, and Turkmenistan.

U.S.  President Barack Obama’s administration, which recently completed a review of its Central Asia policy, has insisted that it will continue to advocate for human rights, political reforms, and free media in the region.

Rights activists have accused Washington of turning a blind eye to abuses by authoritarian governments in Central Asia in order to secure cooperation on counterterrorism and other security matters.

Last month, Amnesty International called on the European Union to increase pressure on the Karimov’s government to stop torture in Uzbek jails and prisons.

Rathke added on May 1 that Washington also urges Tashkent «to allow international observers to visit prisons and to grant all citizens access to full due process in accordance with international commitments.»

http://www.rferl.org/content/uzbekistan-media-bekjanov/26989500.html