The International Association of Art Critics (AICA) has launched a campaign in support of Uzbek photographer Umida Ahmedova, who has been charged by the government with defamation, RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service reports.

The Paris-based art organization has published an appeal to Uzbek authorities to acquit Ahmedova. The appeal is signed by nearly 1,000 artists, art critics, journalists, and rights activists from around the world.

The AICA appeal calls on the Uzbek government to dismiss the charges against Ahmedova on the grounds that art is not journalism and cannot be viewed «as an agent» of defamation.

The AICA said it is attempting to draw the attention of the international community and rights organizations to Ahmedova’s case.

It says that if Ahmedova’s case is not stopped, «any photo taken on the Uzbek streets could become a pretext for legal charges.»

Ahmedova, 54, was arrested on December 16 and charged with defamation and damaging Uzbekistan’s image with a series of photos and videos she took in remote villages that she used for the documentaries «The Burden Of Virginity» and «Customs Of Men And Women.» The films focus on poverty and gender inequality in Uzbekistan.

The documentaries were sponsored by the Swiss Embassy in Tashkent.

Ahmedova, who has contributed photographs to RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service, says the charges against her are «groundless» and «absurd.»

If found guilty, Ahmedova could face a fine and up to two years in a labor camp or up to six months in prison.

A Kazakh opposition group will jointly award a democracy prize to a jailed journalist, rights activist, and businessman, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reports.

The unregistered Alga political group said the prize for outstanding contribution to democracy in Kazakhstan will be awarded to Yevgeny Zhovtis, the director of the nongovernmental Kazakh Bureau for Human Rights; Mukhtar Dzhakishev, the former head of Kazakh uranium producer Kazatomprom; and Ramazan Esergepov, the «Alma-Ata Info» newspaper editor.

The award ceremony will be held on January 19 at Communist Party offices in Astana.

Organizers said they had to change the original venue due to government pressure on the owners of the hotel where the ceremony was to take place.

The prize has been awarded since 2003 on January 19, which was declared «Democracy Day» at an assembly held by opposition members.

Zhovtis was sentenced in September to four years in prison for his role in a deadly traffic accident. Dzhakishev, who has been under arrest in prison since May, is accused of theft and corruption. Esergepov was found guilty in August of revealing state secrets after publishing some government documents and sentenced to three years in prison.

Supporters and human rights organizations say the charges and/or sentences against the three are politically motivated.

http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1932985.html

Regional Tajik police say they know nothing about the reported arrest of a man suspected in the 2007 murder of Kyrgyz journalist Alisher Saipov.

Kyrgyz Interior Ministry spokesman Bakyt Seyitov told RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service that his ministry was told on January 14 about the arrest of a Tajik citizen, Farrukh Sharakhmatullaev, by the Sughd police department.

Seyitov said the ministry and Prosecutor-General’s Office are currently trying to secure the suspect’s extradition to Kyrgyzstan.

But Dilyavar Alizoda, a police department spokesman in the northern city of Sughd, told RFE/RL today that reports of a man being arrested in connection with the killing of Saipov are untrue.

Sharakhmatullaev was allegedly named by Abdufarid Rasulov, who has been sentenced in Kyrgyzstan for his role in Saipov’s murder.

In February, Kyrgyz police detained Rasulov in Kyrgyzstan’s Batken region for drug trafficking and discovered a pistol without a serial number that was shown to be the weapon used to shoot Saipov.

Rasulov said the pistol was given to him in December by Sharakhmatullaev.

Saipov, 26, an ethnic Uzbek and editor in chief of the Osh-based newspaper «Siyosat» («Politics»), was shot dead as he left his office in central Osh on October 24, 2007.

Saipov had also worked as a correspondent for RFE/RL and the Voice of America.

His relatives and colleagues said he may have been killed by Uzbek secret services in retaliation for his critical articles about Uzbek President Islam Karimov and his government.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Tajik_Police_Deny_Suspect_Arrested_In_Kyrgyz_Journalists_Murder_/193108

RFE/RL has covered the case of Umida Ahmedova, an Uzbek photographer who is being charged with defamation and damaging the country’s image.
Uzbek officials claim that the photos and videos that Ahmedova took in remote Uzbek villages (which were featured in two of her documentaries, «Customs Of Men And Women» and «The Burden Of Virginity») are defamatory and insulting to Uzbekistan.

(Check out a slideshow of her photos here.)

Two days ago, Ahmedova’s lawyer received a copy of the conclusions of a panel of «experts» who studied her photos. Apparently, the panel comprised «specialists» in the fields of religion, culture, and psychology.

You don’t have to be a specialist in defamation laws or a psychologist to understand how ridiculous some of the conclusions are.

The panel accused Ahmedova of deliberately presenting Uzbekistan’s landscape, way of life, and traditions in a negative and pessimistic light. The «specialists» came to the conclusion that after looking through Ahmedova’s pictures, any foreigner unfamiliar with Uzbekistan would have the impression that «people in Uzbekistan live in the Middle Ages.»

Some more of the commission’s findings:

90 percent of the pictures were taken in remote and underdeveloped Uzbek villages… Why does [Ahmedova] not take pictures of beautiful places, modern buildings, or well-off villages?

She depicts pictures of beggars and sleeping vagabonds — why does the author take pictures of such things?

The author focuses on two traditions: wedding and circumcision. In both she depicts people crying — women saying farewell to their parents or small boys crying…. The author obviously wants to portray Uzbek people as barbarians.

Ahmedova has many pictures of women doing work, in particular household chores, which makes it seem that Uzbekistan doesn’t have any other profession but cleaning.

Ahmedova tries hard to present Uzbek women as victims. Even a picture of a woman in the park, she is depicted with her hands bound.

After listing all possible malicious intentions Ahmedova might have had while presenting her photographs, the commission arrives at its final verdict: «Ahmedova prepared the photo album with self-interest. It does not fulfill the aesthetic requirements. In other words, the distribution of such an album to the wider public should be prevented.»

http://www.rferl.org/content/The_Photographer_Who_Portrays_Uzbeks_As_Barbarians/1931271.html

With attacks against journalists around the world on the rise, it is no surprise that Central Asian journalism is becoming ever more dangerous.

The recent brazen murders of two Bishkek-based journalists have shocked human rights groups that seek to pressure Central Asian governments into investigating such crimes and bringing the guilty to justice.

It is increasingly clear, however, that those governments themselves are behind much of the violence, leaving any hopes that justice will prevail futile.

The two journalists — 40-year-old Gennady Pavlyuk (pen name Ibragim Rustambek) and 27-year-old Sayat Shulembaev — were brutally murdered in Almaty in December. Pavlyuk’s hands and feet were bound and he was thrown out of a sixth-floor apartment window on December 16; he died six days later of his injuries. Shulembaev was stabbed to death in an Almaty apartment on December 26.

The office of Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev has issued a statement affirming that «Kyrgyzstan’s law-enforcement agencies are doing their best to make sure that every attack on journalists is thoroughly investigated.» But little in the way of competent police investigation followed earlier such pledges from Central Asian governments.

Possible Motives

Pavlyuk, who worked closely with the Kyrgyz opposition and exposed high-level corruption in his writing, was planning to establish an opposition publication with the support of Bakiev’s rivals in the opposition Ata-Meken party. Shulembaev had been reporting on Pavlyuk’s murder before being killed himself.

Though the Kyrgyz government maintains that the murders were not «connected to any kind of political motivation,» the spate of recent attacks, combined with the stiffening of media laws across the region, suggests that the Kyrgyz regime, like its counterparts in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan, is willing to take drastic measures — even beyond its own borders — to silence criticism.

Earlier in 2009, a Kyrgyz journalist was reportedly beaten to death by eight policemen in the southern town of Osh while trying to renew his passport, and three journalists were attacked in Bishkek the same week that Pavlyuk was killed. Reporters Without Borders believes those attacks were part of a broader effort to intimidate journalists close to opposition parties. Despite official Kyrgyz assurances, no one has yet been arrested or charged with any of those crimes.

Furthermore, in a case that received some attention in the Western press, ethnic Uzbek journalist Alisher Saipov was gunned down in Osh in October 2007. Many believe that assassination was carried out by Uzbek security forces operating illegally in Kyrgyzstan in retaliation for articles Saipov had published exposing high-level Uzbek government corruption. The failure to solve the Saipov case casts serious doubt on official claims that the Kyrgyz authorities are «doing their best to make sure» that such attacks are properly investigated.

Finding The Killers

It is logical that Kazakhstan should bear the primary responsibility for tracking down those who killed Pavlyuk and Shulembaev, especially since it recently took over the chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and, among other things, has pledged to uphold the human rights component of the OSCE charter.
Although the Kazakh government has identified suspects in the murders of Pavlyuk and Shulembaev, they have yet to release any detailed information about their investigation, and it is unclear if they are willing to coordinate their efforts with the Kyrgyz authorities. And judging by Kazakhstan’s cavalier attitude toward suggested media and political reform in its run-up to taking over the OSCE chairmanship on January 1, as well as its controversial sentencing of leading human rights activist Yevgeny Zhovtis to a four-year prison term last fall, human rights advocates and Central Asian journalists should not expect a thorough and conclusive investigation nor much cooperation between Kazakh and Kyrgyz authorities.

Based on past experience, the likelihood that the two countries will undertake a joint investigation is slim. Central Asian governments have proved to be extremely reluctant to coordinate efforts of any kind, with intense personal rivalries between the authoritarian leaders in the region often trumping economic or security concerns.

Furthermore, there are few incentives to induce either Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan to pursue the murder investigation systematically. First, the leaders of both countries are aware that they are unlikely to incur serious criticism from either the U.S. or other members of the international community for their failure to do so. Washington’s primary interest, despite its rhetoric regarding universal human rights and support for freedom of expression and the rule of law, remains maintaining oil and gas contracts in energy-rich Central Asia, as well as over-flight and basing rights for its Afghan campaign, including use of the Manas Air Base located just outside Bishkek

And second, if such criticism is forthcoming, the two countries could respond by accusing the West of double standards. After all, neighboring Russia and China routinely violate human rights even more egregiously.

Test Cases

Nonetheless, the Pavlyuk and Shulembaev murders are the first test of Kazakhstan’s affirmed resolve to comply with OSCE standards, and the success or failure of the murder investigations will color perceptions of Kazakhstan’s chairmanship of the OSCE.

Sadly, however, with violence directed toward Central Asian journalists increasing and pressure from western governments to stem it half-hearted at best, it is likely that the Kazakh government will opt for doing very little to solve the case and the treacherous trend will continue, with disastrous consequences for freedom of expression in the region.

«The recent attacks — and now death — of our colleagues make it extremely difficult for the rest of us to do our jobs,» says Marat Tokaev, a leading Kyrgyz advocate for journalists’ rights. «Most of the time, the attacks go unpunished and this creates an atmosphere of hopelessness and fear.»

Unfortunately, such an atmosphere sits perfectly well with Central Asian authoritarians unwilling to tolerate the slightest criticism of their repressive rule.

J.G. Cefalo is a regional analyst formerly based in Almaty. The views expressed in this commentary are the author’s own, and do not necessarily reflect those of RFE/RL

J.G. Cefalo RFE/RL

Источник: http://www.rferl.org/content/Journalists_In_Central_Asia_Struggle/1928436.html

Uzbekistan’s Prosecutor-General’s Office interrogated Sid Yanishev and Khusnitdin Kutbitdinov, two independent journalists, in Tashkent on January 7. Journalists Vasily Markov, Marina Kozlova and Abdumalik Babayev were also «invited» for questioning. Kutbitdinov is a former correspondent with RFE/RL’s Uzbek service.

Yanishev spoke with RFE/RL after meeting with Bahram Nurmatov, assistant to Tashkent’s prosecutor-general, who told him that the interrogation was initiated after National Security Service and Foreign Ministry files on Yanishev’s activities were sent to the prosecutor’s office. Yanishev said that he was shown the files and questioned about international conferences he attended, foreign payments he received, and contacts with foreign embassies. He said he was asked to sign an explanatory note at the end of the questioning, but that no charges were officially brought against him.

Kutbitdinov told RFE/RL that he also met with Nurmatov, who told him of reports alleging that he had provided «discrediting information» to foreign websites using pseudonyms. Kutbitdinov told Nurmatov that he was unfamiliar with the pseudonyms and did not write any of the information that was shown to him.

RFE/RL’s investigation of the incidents suggests that the authorities are targeting journalists who have received awards or special recognition by the U.S. and Russian embassies in Tashkent. Asked about the cases, a spokesperson at the U.S. Embassy said, «We have noted these reports with some concern and are in contact with the journalists affected and other sources in order to gather more details on what happened and what might be behind it.»

Galima Bukharbaeva, an independent Uzbek journalist and editor of uznews.net who lives in exile in Europe, told RFE/RL that the interrogation procedure at the prosecutor’s office is a typical practice used by the Uzbek government to intimidate journalists in Uzbekistan.

Reporters without Borders reacted to the incidents in a statement on January 8, saying, «The international community, which has already made too many concessions to the Uzbek authorities, should make a concertd effort to protect the country’s few remaining independent journalists and prevent a new crackdown.»

The statement refers to the crackdown on independent media and civil society that followed the events in the Uzbek city of Andijan in May 2005, when government troops opened fire on a crowd of peaceful demonstrators, killing hundreds and causing many activists to flee the country.

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Источник:

The media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says it is alarmed by the recent interrogation of five independent journalists by Uzbek officials, RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service reports.

RSF’s Europe and former USSR desk chief Elsa Vidal told RFE/RL on January 13 that the organization is concerned the interrogations might be part of a new crackdown on journalists.

Vidal said RSF notes that the journalists who were interrogated and accused of cooperating with foreign media outlets are working in difficult conditions.

Vidal said the European Union «must [continue] to defend human rights.» She added that Uzbek civil society is in great need of help.

On January 7, assistant Tashkent prosecutor Bahram Nurmatov «invited» several journalists who have worked or currently work for foreign media outlets to the Prosecutor-General’s Office for meetings.

Invitees included Vasil Markov, Sid Yanishev (also known as Said Abdurakhimov), Marina Kozlova, and former RFE/RL correspondent Khusnitdin Kutbitdinov.

The next day, journalists Aleksei Volosevich and Andrei Kudryashov received similar invitations.

Yanishev and Kutbitdinov said they were told the questioning was initiated after National Security Service and Foreign Ministry files on the journalists’ activities were sent to the prosecutor’s office.

Both said they were questioned about their professional activities and foreign payments they received.

Nurmatov reportedly described some of their articles as «biased and tendentious» and as a «slight on the dignity of the Uzbek government.»

http://www.rferl.org/content/Media_Watchdog_Alarmed_By_Interrogations_Of_Uzbek_Journalists/1929343.h

With attacks against journalists around the world on the rise, it is no surprise that Central Asian journalism is becoming ever more dangerous.

The recent brazen murders of two Bishkek-based journalists have shocked human rights groups that seek to pressure Central Asian governments into investigating such crimes and bringing the guilty to justice.

It is increasingly clear, however, that those governments themselves are behind much of the violence, leaving any hopes that justice will prevail futile.

The two journalists — 40-year-old Gennady Pavlyuk (pen name Ibragim Rustambek) and 27-year-old Sayat Shulembaev — were brutally murdered in Almaty in December. Pavlyuk’s hands and feet were bound and he was thrown out of a sixth-floor apartment window on December 16; he died six days later of his injuries. Shulembaev was stabbed to death in an Almaty apartment on December 26.

The office of Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev has issued a statement affirming that «Kyrgyzstan’s law-enforcement agencies are doing their best to make sure that every attack on journalists is thoroughly investigated.» But little in the way of competent police investigation followed earlier such pledges from Central Asian governments.

Possible Motives

Pavlyuk, who worked closely with the Kyrgyz opposition and exposed high-level corruption in his writing, was planning to establish an opposition publication with the support of Bakiev’s rivals in the opposition Ata-Meken party. Shulembaev had been reporting on Pavlyuk’s murder before being killed himself.

Though the Kyrgyz government maintains that the murders were not «connected to any kind of political motivation,» the spate of recent attacks, combined with the stiffening of media laws across the region, suggests that the Kyrgyz regime, like its counterparts in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan, is willing to take drastic measures — even beyond its own borders — to silence criticism.

Earlier in 2009, a Kyrgyz journalist was reportedly beaten to death by eight policemen in the southern town of Osh while trying to renew his passport, and three journalists were attacked in Bishkek the same week that Pavlyuk was killed. Reporters Without Borders believes those attacks were part of a broader effort to intimidate journalists close to opposition parties. Despite official Kyrgyz assurances, no one has yet been arrested or charged with any of those crimes.

Furthermore, in a case that received some attention in the Western press, ethnic Uzbek journalist Alisher Saipov was gunned down in Osh in October 2007. Many believe that assassination was carried out by Uzbek security forces operating illegally in Kyrgyzstan in retaliation for articles Saipov had published exposing high-level Uzbek government corruption. The failure to solve the Saipov case casts serious doubt on official claims that the Kyrgyz authorities are «doing their best to make sure» that such attacks are properly investigated.

Finding The Killers

It is logical that Kazakhstan should bear the primary responsibility for tracking down those who killed Pavlyuk and Shulembaev, especially since it recently took over the chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and, among other things, has pledged to uphold the human rights component of the OSCE charter.
Although the Kazakh government has identified suspects in the murders of Pavlyuk and Shulembaev, they have yet to release any detailed information about their investigation, and it is unclear if they are willing to coordinate their efforts with the Kyrgyz authorities. And judging by Kazakhstan’s cavalier attitude toward suggested media and political reform in its run-up to taking over the OSCE chairmanship on January 1, as well as its controversial sentencing of leading human rights activist Yevgeny Zhovtis to a four-year prison term last fall, human rights advocates and Central Asian journalists should not expect a thorough and conclusive investigation nor much cooperation between Kazakh and Kyrgyz authorities.

Based on past experience, the likelihood that the two countries will undertake a joint investigation is slim. Central Asian governments have proved to be extremely reluctant to coordinate efforts of any kind, with intense personal rivalries between the authoritarian leaders in the region often trumping economic or security concerns.

Furthermore, there are few incentives to induce either Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan to pursue the murder investigation systematically. First, the leaders of both countries are aware that they are unlikely to incur serious criticism from either the U.S. or other members of the international community for their failure to do so. Washington’s primary interest, despite its rhetoric regarding universal human rights and support for freedom of expression and the rule of law, remains maintaining oil and gas contracts in energy-rich Central Asia, as well as over-flight and basing rights for its Afghan campaign, including use of the Manas Air Base located just outside Bishkek

And second, if such criticism is forthcoming, the two countries could respond by accusing the West of double standards. After all, neighboring Russia and China routinely violate human rights even more egregiously.

Test Cases

Nonetheless, the Pavlyuk and Shulembaev murders are the first test of Kazakhstan’s affirmed resolve to comply with OSCE standards, and the success or failure of the murder investigations will color perceptions of Kazakhstan’s chairmanship of the OSCE.

Sadly, however, with violence directed toward Central Asian journalists increasing and pressure from western governments to stem it half-hearted at best, it is likely that the Kazakh government will opt for doing very little to solve the case and the treacherous trend will continue, with disastrous consequences for freedom of expression in the region.

«The recent attacks — and now death — of our colleagues make it extremely difficult for the rest of us to do our jobs,» says Marat Tokaev, a leading Kyrgyz advocate for journalists’ rights. «Most of the time, the attacks go unpunished and this creates an atmosphere of hopelessness and fear.»

Unfortunately, such an atmosphere sits perfectly well with Central Asian authoritarians unwilling to tolerate the slightest criticism of their repressive rule.

J.G. Cefalo is a regional analyst formerly based in Almaty. The views expressed in this commentary are the author’s own, and do not necessarily reflect those of RFE/RL

J.G. Cefalo, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Источник: http://www.rferl.org/content/Journalists_In_Central_Asia_Struggle/1928436.html

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has condemned the prosecution of media activists in Kazakhstan, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reports.

The New-York based group issued a statement calling for Kazakh officials to «immediately stop the unfounded prosecution» of Raushan Esergepova, the wife of jailed «Alma-Ata Info» newspaper editor Ramazan Esergepov; Rozlana Taukina, the head of the Kazakh nongovernmental organization Journalists in Trouble; and Vladimir Kozlov, the leader of the unregistered opposition group Alga.

Kozlov was found guilty on January 12 for violating a law on holding rallies and ordered to pay a fine of about $50. Esergepova’s administrative trial began today, while the court case of Taukina was postponed indefinitely.

All three rally organizers said the charges against them are politically motivated.

CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova said on January 11 that the Kazakh government «must demonstrate tolerance for freedom of expression that becomes their newly assumed role of Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe chair.»

The three organized a flash-mob protest on January 6 in central Almaty under the banner «Freedom To Journalists Convicted For Their Professional Activities,» in support of jailed journalists, including Esergepov; «Vremya» newspaper correspondent Tohniyaz Kuchukov; writer Alpamys Bekturganov; and «Law and Justice» editor in chief Tokbergen Abiev.

Esergepov was found guilty in August of revealing state secrets after publishing some government documents. Abiev was convicted for investigating judicial corruption. Bekturganov was imprisoned after writing a critical article about West Kazakhstan Governor Baktykozha Izmukhambetov, who won a libel case against him.

http://www.rferl.org/content/CPJ_Urges_Kazakhstan_To_Close_Cases_Against_Activists/1928487.html

ASTANA — The Kazakh Interior Ministry says Kyrgyz citizens were involved in the recent murder of a Kyrgyz journalist in Almaty, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reports.

Kazakh Interior Ministry spokesman Kuanyshbek Jumanov said today in Astana that although police discovered that several Kyrgyz were involved in the Gennady Pavlyuk’s murder, he refused to comment on the alleged involvement of Kyrgyz secret service officers.

Jumanov added that Kazakh and Kyrgyz police have agreed to conduct a joint investigation into Pavlyuk’s killing.

A team of Kazakh police investigators and members of Kazakhstan’s Prosecutor-General’s Office led by Lieutenant-Colonel Timur Stamkulov arrived in Bishkek on January 11 to help conduct the investigation into the murder.

Pavlyuk, 51, died in hospital on December 22, six days after he was thrown from a high building in Almaty with his hands and feet bound.

Kazakh media had quoted anonymous Kazakh police sources saying there were indications that three Kyrgyz secret service officers made an appointment with Pavlyuk and may have been present in the apartment from which he was thrown.

But Kyrgyz secret service officials accused the Kazakh media of disseminating false information.

Pavlyuk, an ethnic Russian, was the founder of the «White Steamer» newspaper and website and had worked for the newspaper «Vecherny Bishkek («Evening Bishkek») and the Russian weekly «Argumenty i fakty.»

http://www.rferl.org/content/Kazakh_Interior_Ministry_Says_Kyrgyz_Involved_In_Pavlyuks_Murder_/19286