Human Rights
Uzbek Ministry for Foreign Affairs cancels meeting with German MP's
30.06.2011. Category:Uzbekistan
Bonn/Berlin, June 30, 2011-ETG- The Foreign Ministry of Uzbekistan announced today that a trip by the German Bundestag Committee for Human Rights cannot take place.
A delegation trip of German MP's to Tashkent was scheduled for November this year, after a request from Berlin, issued May 3. The Committee members planned to have bilateral meetings with the Uzbek Parliament and Government, discussing mainly the human rights dialogue.
Today, the Uzbek Foreign Ministry rejected the request by saying, that both chambers of the Parliament and the Government will have a tight schedule on "the further democratic reformation of the country together with the President. The legislative and executive bodies of Uzbekistan are therefore too busy for any additional consultations."
Volker Beck, Parliamentary Spokesperson of the Greens for Human Rights said that after the visit of the Deputy Foreign Minister Norov to Germany earlier this year, it seems that Tashkent felt offended by the protests in Berlin against the Uzbek Government.
He added that "Uzbekistan is too scared to talk about human rights issues openly, that they even are not willing to let German Parliamentarians into the country. Now I have my doubts, if a human rights dialogue with Uzbekistan can be fruitful." Mr. Beck also underlined, that talks about human rights abuses in Uzbekistan once a year are not enough. Just before those annual consultations, President Karimov would release some political prisoners, while arresting other opponents. If this dialogue is used only as a front, the German Government should reconsider its position on Uzbekistan. "The power, the time and the money then could be used in a better way to support the Uzbek civil society", Volker Beck said.
While the Greens made a clear statement on the cancellation, the German Government rejected any public comment.
A delegation trip of German MP's to Tashkent was scheduled for November this year, after a request from Berlin, issued May 3. The Committee members planned to have bilateral meetings with the Uzbek Parliament and Government, discussing mainly the human rights dialogue.
Today, the Uzbek Foreign Ministry rejected the request by saying, that both chambers of the Parliament and the Government will have a tight schedule on "the further democratic reformation of the country together with the President. The legislative and executive bodies of Uzbekistan are therefore too busy for any additional consultations."
Volker Beck, Parliamentary Spokesperson of the Greens for Human Rights said that after the visit of the Deputy Foreign Minister Norov to Germany earlier this year, it seems that Tashkent felt offended by the protests in Berlin against the Uzbek Government.
He added that "Uzbekistan is too scared to talk about human rights issues openly, that they even are not willing to let German Parliamentarians into the country. Now I have my doubts, if a human rights dialogue with Uzbekistan can be fruitful." Mr. Beck also underlined, that talks about human rights abuses in Uzbekistan once a year are not enough. Just before those annual consultations, President Karimov would release some political prisoners, while arresting other opponents. If this dialogue is used only as a front, the German Government should reconsider its position on Uzbekistan. "The power, the time and the money then could be used in a better way to support the Uzbek civil society", Volker Beck said.
While the Greens made a clear statement on the cancellation, the German Government rejected any public comment.
UN report calls out Ashgabat on rights abuses
07.06.2011. Category:Turkmenistan
A United Nations Committee Against Torture report released June 6 rapped Turkmenistan for maintaining a “climate of impunity,” and called on Ashgabat to address systematic human rights abuses as a “matter of urgency.” The report should complicate efforts by the European Union and United States to tighten energy relations with President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov’s regime.More ...
Germany: Use Visit to Press Uzbekistan on Rights
20.05.2011. Category:Uzbekistan
Germany should use the visit to Berlin by Uzbekistan’s deputy foreign minister on May 24 through 26, 2011, to press for concrete improvements in human rights, Human Rights Watch said today. Germany should make clear to the Uzbek government that enhanced relations depend on real human rights improvements, Human Rights Watch said.More ...
Turkmen and Uzbek Presidents Make Newsweek's Despot Index
20.05.2011. Category:Turkmenistan | Uzbekistan
President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has madeNewsweek's Despot Index of the top 10 dictators of the world.
With his trademark "Peter Gallagher eyebrows" and "legit pal" Prince Andrew, as well as his "intellectual pursuit" as a trained dentist, the Turkmen leader's "future prospects" are considered "very good," says Newsweek.More ...
With his trademark "Peter Gallagher eyebrows" and "legit pal" Prince Andrew, as well as his "intellectual pursuit" as a trained dentist, the Turkmen leader's "future prospects" are considered "very good," says Newsweek.More ...
On Torture and Arbitrary Detention in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan
09.05.2011. Category:Uzbekistan | Turkmenistan
Summary
The following represents a compilation produced by human rights defenders in conjunction with partners, presenting analysis and case studies on torture and arbitrary detention in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
This report is intended as a briefing to UN Special Rapporteurs on Torture, Human Rights Defenders, and other UN Special Mechanisms and bodies on the situation in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
It is also intended as an invitation to continued cooperation, to network building, and to strengthening civil society in both countries by encouraging increased interface on the part of Turkmen and Uzbek human rights defenders with the United Nations. Moving forward, we hope that together we can bring new information to light and take concrete steps toward ending human rights violations.
Partners in civil society find that years after the special rapporteur on torture concluded that systemic torture exists in Uzbekistan, torture in both countries continues to be a routine component of investigations and detention and is a common practice in the penal systems. Forms of torture include.
Bludgeoning with batons
Genital mutilation
Male and female rape and sodomy
Psychological humiliation and degradation
Electrocution
In particular, people linked with the Andijan events of 2005, including innocent family members, are routinely detained, brought up on bogus charges, and subjected to long years of bodily torture and psychological terror. Notably, medical personnel often play a roll in concealing evidence and fabricating fake documents which make filing charges impossible. Other at risk groups include:
Human rights defenders
Religious people
Refugees and asylum seekers who are often deported from other CIS countries back to Uzbekistan
Ex convicts used as scapegoats
Journalists
While information regarding Turkmenistan is scarce, according to our sources, the situation is the prison colonies is dire. This is exacerbated by the general weakness of civil society in Turkmenistan.
Of note have been recent studies carried out by the Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights, excerpts of which are contained in this report. These studies on Turkmen prisons and penal colonies detail arbitrary detention and torture as both physical and psychological daily realities.
It is our hope that this report by partners in civil society from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan can be used as an ongoing advocacy tool to improve the human rights situation. The contributors of the report offer their contact information and invitations toward further discussion.
The full report can be found here.
The following represents a compilation produced by human rights defenders in conjunction with partners, presenting analysis and case studies on torture and arbitrary detention in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
This report is intended as a briefing to UN Special Rapporteurs on Torture, Human Rights Defenders, and other UN Special Mechanisms and bodies on the situation in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
It is also intended as an invitation to continued cooperation, to network building, and to strengthening civil society in both countries by encouraging increased interface on the part of Turkmen and Uzbek human rights defenders with the United Nations. Moving forward, we hope that together we can bring new information to light and take concrete steps toward ending human rights violations.
Partners in civil society find that years after the special rapporteur on torture concluded that systemic torture exists in Uzbekistan, torture in both countries continues to be a routine component of investigations and detention and is a common practice in the penal systems. Forms of torture include.
Bludgeoning with batons
Genital mutilation
Male and female rape and sodomy
Psychological humiliation and degradation
Electrocution
In particular, people linked with the Andijan events of 2005, including innocent family members, are routinely detained, brought up on bogus charges, and subjected to long years of bodily torture and psychological terror. Notably, medical personnel often play a roll in concealing evidence and fabricating fake documents which make filing charges impossible. Other at risk groups include:
Human rights defenders
Religious people
Refugees and asylum seekers who are often deported from other CIS countries back to Uzbekistan
Ex convicts used as scapegoats
Journalists
While information regarding Turkmenistan is scarce, according to our sources, the situation is the prison colonies is dire. This is exacerbated by the general weakness of civil society in Turkmenistan.
Of note have been recent studies carried out by the Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights, excerpts of which are contained in this report. These studies on Turkmen prisons and penal colonies detail arbitrary detention and torture as both physical and psychological daily realities.
It is our hope that this report by partners in civil society from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan can be used as an ongoing advocacy tool to improve the human rights situation. The contributors of the report offer their contact information and invitations toward further discussion.
The full report can be found here.
Protecting human rights is a prerequisite for closer ties with the EU
21.04.2011. Category:Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan's human rights record is "abysmal", and the EU should engage with it only if it makes concrete progress in protecting them, said Foreign Affairs Committee MEPs on Wednesday, ahead of an EP delegation visit there next week to ascertain whether Parliament should give its consent, in June, to an EU Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA).More ...
Preparing for — and provoking — life after Karimov
28.01.2011. Category:Uzbekistan
In the wake of Uzbek President Islam Karimov’s visit to Brussels this week, there’s been lots of acrimonious shouting in the West about what the European Union shouldn’t do about human rights abuses in Uzbekistan, but not much about what it should. That’s because few want to face a grim reality: a fracturing of Uzbekistan’s political elite is probably the best hope for a chance to promote human rights, civil society, and liberal democracy. Seizing that chance, however, would require a taste for realpolitick and risk.More ...
European Parliament moves bloc a step closer to Turkmenistan
28.01.2011. Category:Turkmenistan
The European Parliament has given its initial green light to a partnership agreement with gas-rich Turkmenistan, aimed at bringing the Central Asian country closer to the European Union.
But the draft agreement has been criticized for risking legitimatizing a repressive regime.
The European Union and Turkmenistan signed a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) back in 1998, although its entry into force has long been postponed due to the uncertain political situation in the country and human rights concerns.More ...
But the draft agreement has been criticized for risking legitimatizing a repressive regime.
The European Union and Turkmenistan signed a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) back in 1998, although its entry into force has long been postponed due to the uncertain political situation in the country and human rights concerns.More ...
West marks Karimov’s rehabilitation
25.01.2011. Category:Uzbekistan
Islam Karimov, the president of Uzbekistan, will on Monday make a controversial visit to Nato and the European Union, amid strong condemnation from western diplomats and pressure groups over his human rights record.More ...
Petition and information on Karimov's upcoming visit to Brussels: Free Europe embraces the the Uzbek Dictator?
21.01.2011. Category:Uzbekistan
Free Europe embraces THE Uzbek dictator?
Statement by activists and friends of civil society in Uzbekistan
On January 24, President Islam Karimov will visit Brussels, where he plans to meet with the leadership of the European Union and NATO. Meanwhile, the Belgian Foreign Ministry issued a statement that neither official talks with member of the Belgian Government nor an audience with King Albert II. We learned about this visit not from press releases of the EU and the governments of Belgium, but through private channels. Only a few days ago, the website of the President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso posted the headline:
Meeting with the President of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov which, in turn, links to the biography of Islam Karimov posted by the Uzbek government’s website. The reader can get the following information about Karimov from this ‘biography’:
‘For his outstanding contribution to education in Uzbekistan, creation of a state based on democratic laws, guarantee of civil peace and national accord, and for courage, I. Karimov was awarded the title Hero of Uzbekistan and the awards Mustakillik (Independence) and Amir Temur.’
This is propaganda pure and simple, and President Barroso’s website provided a link to this propaganda.
After we made this public, the Public Affairs Unit of the European Commission deleted the above mentioned link from the Commissioner's web site.
In regard to this, we are concerned by the following three circumstances.
First, EU relations with the Karimov regime seem to be at odds with EU principles of openness. One gets the impression that the EU is borrowing elements from the dictator’s own principles for ruling – of opacity and secrecy.
Second, flirting with the dictator of Uzbekistan, the EU sets a dangerous precedent. If the EU has a visit with Karimov, who will they receive next to discuss ‘water-energy issues’ or the like? Alexander Lukashenko, Robert Mugabe, Kim Jong Il, Than Shwe?
Finally, we are concerned that the attitude of EU leaders towards Karimov during the visit will be complimentary, and that the EU will miss the opportunity to impress upon the regime the need to improve its human rights record. More ...
Statement by activists and friends of civil society in Uzbekistan
On January 24, President Islam Karimov will visit Brussels, where he plans to meet with the leadership of the European Union and NATO. Meanwhile, the Belgian Foreign Ministry issued a statement that neither official talks with member of the Belgian Government nor an audience with King Albert II. We learned about this visit not from press releases of the EU and the governments of Belgium, but through private channels. Only a few days ago, the website of the President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso posted the headline:
Meeting with the President of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov which, in turn, links to the biography of Islam Karimov posted by the Uzbek government’s website. The reader can get the following information about Karimov from this ‘biography’:
‘For his outstanding contribution to education in Uzbekistan, creation of a state based on democratic laws, guarantee of civil peace and national accord, and for courage, I. Karimov was awarded the title Hero of Uzbekistan and the awards Mustakillik (Independence) and Amir Temur.’
This is propaganda pure and simple, and President Barroso’s website provided a link to this propaganda.
After we made this public, the Public Affairs Unit of the European Commission deleted the above mentioned link from the Commissioner's web site.
In regard to this, we are concerned by the following three circumstances.
First, EU relations with the Karimov regime seem to be at odds with EU principles of openness. One gets the impression that the EU is borrowing elements from the dictator’s own principles for ruling – of opacity and secrecy.
Second, flirting with the dictator of Uzbekistan, the EU sets a dangerous precedent. If the EU has a visit with Karimov, who will they receive next to discuss ‘water-energy issues’ or the like? Alexander Lukashenko, Robert Mugabe, Kim Jong Il, Than Shwe?
Finally, we are concerned that the attitude of EU leaders towards Karimov during the visit will be complimentary, and that the EU will miss the opportunity to impress upon the regime the need to improve its human rights record. More ...
Menschenrechte in der EU auf dem Abstellgleis?
21.01.2011. Category:Uzbekistan
Anlässlich des Empfangs des usbekischen Präsidenten Islam Karimov durch EU-Kommissionspräsident Barosso am 24.1. erklärt Viola von Cramon, Sprecherin für Auswärtige Beziehungen der EU:More ...
Karimov to Visit EU; Ashton and Barroso Must Put Human Rights on the Agenda
18.01.2011. Category:Uzbekistan
Chairwoman Hautala has reminded High Representative, Ms Ashton and President of Commission, Mr Barroso of the importance of raising human rights issues during the visit of President Karimov of Uzbekistan to Brussels, on 24th of January. More ...
Uzbekistan needs action, not words on human rights
03.12.2010. Category:Uzbekistan
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (AFP) – Uzbekistan should "translate words into practice" to improve its human rights situation, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday during a brief visit to Tashkent.
The US is ready to "support and assist in that effort", Clinton added while meeting President Islam Karimov on Thursday during a visit to the ex-Soviet state that lasted only a few hours.
"I urged him to demonstrate his commitment through a series of steps, to ensure that human rights and fundamental freedoms are truly protected in this country," Clinton told NGO leaders at a meeting, apress statement said.
"I am well aware of the hardship that many of you experience because of the work that you do," she said.
Uzbekistan has rejected the accusations of mass human rights violations, notably the regime's systematic stifling of all form of opposition, which are regularly voiced by NGOs.
Clinton said she touched on restrictions on religious freedom, torture, and child labour.
"We raise these issues in all our interactions with the government and will continue to make improvement of human rights in Uzbekistan an integral part of expanding our bilateral relationship."
In an annual report published in January, US-based Human Rights Watch said the Uzbek government's human rights record remained "atrocious."
Clinton during her visit also signed a broad bilateral science and technology cooperation agreement with Uzbekistan's First Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Azimov.
The US is ready to "support and assist in that effort", Clinton added while meeting President Islam Karimov on Thursday during a visit to the ex-Soviet state that lasted only a few hours.
"I urged him to demonstrate his commitment through a series of steps, to ensure that human rights and fundamental freedoms are truly protected in this country," Clinton told NGO leaders at a meeting, apress statement said.
"I am well aware of the hardship that many of you experience because of the work that you do," she said.
Uzbekistan has rejected the accusations of mass human rights violations, notably the regime's systematic stifling of all form of opposition, which are regularly voiced by NGOs.
Clinton said she touched on restrictions on religious freedom, torture, and child labour.
"We raise these issues in all our interactions with the government and will continue to make improvement of human rights in Uzbekistan an integral part of expanding our bilateral relationship."
In an annual report published in January, US-based Human Rights Watch said the Uzbek government's human rights record remained "atrocious."
Clinton during her visit also signed a broad bilateral science and technology cooperation agreement with Uzbekistan's First Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Azimov.
Parallel Conference calls on OSCE Summit to make true comprehensive security commitment
02.12.2010. Category:Kazakhstan
Civil society organizations from Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus and North America call on the OSCE participating States to reinforce the mechanisms to promote and monitor compliance with the OSCE commitments in the human dimension, on conflict prevention and resolution, and on forging new partnerships with civil society. Over 200 civil society organizations from across the OSCE space met in a Parallel Conference on 28 and 29 November in Astana. “The core of the OSCE’s comprehensive concept of security has always been the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law. We express our determination to contribute towards its full realization”, said Sonia Zilberman of CIVICUS, one of the conference organizers.More ...
Statement Energy Security and Democratic Development: the case of Turkmenistan
09.11.2010. Category:Turkmenistan
ETG was invited to speak about energy, security and democratic development at a conference, organised by the German Government and FRIDE.
Please find Michael’s speech below:
Ladies and Gentlemen:
At first, I would also like to thank the organizers of today‘s conference here in Bonn for discussing those important questions, dedicated to the relations between the European Union and Central Asia.
When reflecting about the topic of this event, one might think that energy security would be the relevant part the European Union and its member states is interested in, while democratic development is mainly relevant for the future of the Central Asian states, in this case Turkmenistan. But in fact, democratic development is not only important and essential for Turkmenistan itself, it has an impact to stability and security within the whole Eurasian region, with direct consequences for the EU, for the OSCE, for NATO and other institutions.
The relations between the European Union and Turkmenistan are mainly based on establishing an energy dialogue. It can be described as a pragmatic approach, because it differs from the basic principles of the EU Central Asia Strategy, defined under the German Presidency in 2006, whereby the promotion of democracy and the rule of law form the basis for more intense bilateral relations.
However, a number of steps taken by Brussels over the past years seem to indicate that in the case of Turkmenistan, the Union is placing bilateral relations ahead of its ratified commitment to values. More ...
Please find Michael’s speech below:
Ladies and Gentlemen:
At first, I would also like to thank the organizers of today‘s conference here in Bonn for discussing those important questions, dedicated to the relations between the European Union and Central Asia.
When reflecting about the topic of this event, one might think that energy security would be the relevant part the European Union and its member states is interested in, while democratic development is mainly relevant for the future of the Central Asian states, in this case Turkmenistan. But in fact, democratic development is not only important and essential for Turkmenistan itself, it has an impact to stability and security within the whole Eurasian region, with direct consequences for the EU, for the OSCE, for NATO and other institutions.
The relations between the European Union and Turkmenistan are mainly based on establishing an energy dialogue. It can be described as a pragmatic approach, because it differs from the basic principles of the EU Central Asia Strategy, defined under the German Presidency in 2006, whereby the promotion of democracy and the rule of law form the basis for more intense bilateral relations.
However, a number of steps taken by Brussels over the past years seem to indicate that in the case of Turkmenistan, the Union is placing bilateral relations ahead of its ratified commitment to values. More ...
UNITED NATIONS DECLARES TURKMENISTAN’S DETENTION OF ANNAKURBAN AMANKLYCHEV AND SAPARDURDY KHADZHIEV A VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
04.11.2010. Category:Turkmenistan
In response to a petition filed by Freedom Now and Hogan Lovells LLP (formerly Hogan & Hartson), the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention publicly released its opinion that in arresting and continuing to detain Annakurban Amanklychev and Sapardurdy Khadzhiev, the Government of Turkmenistan is in violation of international law. The opinion calls on the Government of Turkmenistan to release the two human rights advocates.More ...
Kazakhstan’s regional media is in tatters
18.06.2010. Category:Kazakhstan
“While government-supported media have been earning ever more, the independent outlets’ declining incomes have been putting brakes on their development”, Askar Shomshekov of the Pavlodar-based Regional Journalism Centre said.
Regional media have only themselves to blame for advertising and sales shortfalls, he said.
“Most of them have been doing nothing to adapt their business strategies to the changing market environment”, Shomshekov said. “Therefore, their circulations and, hence, their earnings have been decreasing”.More ...
Regional media have only themselves to blame for advertising and sales shortfalls, he said.
“Most of them have been doing nothing to adapt their business strategies to the changing market environment”, Shomshekov said. “Therefore, their circulations and, hence, their earnings have been decreasing”.More ...
Democratic Change It's Not
01.06.2010. Category:Kyrgyzstan
There are basically two schools of thought when it comes to explaining what happened in Kyrgyzstan in April. Proponents of the democracy school will argue that what we witnessed was a legitimate uprising against an unjust and oppressive regime set up by President Kurmanbek Bakiyev. The other school, the realists, will explain the April events as a coup against the government organized by a power-hungry opposition supported and financed from the outside.More ...
Uzbekistan's child slavery: Cotton
23.03.2010. Category:Uzbekistan
A new report released today by the Environmental Justice Foundation exposes how cotton production in the Central Asian Republic of Uzbekistan remains one of the most exploitative enterprises in the world. “Slave Nation” EJF’s reveals how the Government of Uzbekistan continues to lie to the international community while routinely compelling hundreds of thousands of children as labourers in the country’s annual cotton harvest.
With evidence that little has changed despite the promises of the Uzbek Government and with the spring planting season just around the corner, EJF asks whether it will be children forced to pick the crop again when the harvest comes around later this year.
Steve Trent, Executive Director at EJF says “The international community must follow the actions of the private sector - and in particular major European and US retailers - to apply forceful diplomatic and trade pressure to ensure that cotton production in Uzbekistan is no longer characterized by the use of state- sponsored, forced child and adult labour and devastating environmental impacts, to benefit a small, corrupt, ruling elite”.
With evidence that little has changed despite the promises of the Uzbek Government and with the spring planting season just around the corner, EJF asks whether it will be children forced to pick the crop again when the harvest comes around later this year.
Steve Trent, Executive Director at EJF says “The international community must follow the actions of the private sector - and in particular major European and US retailers - to apply forceful diplomatic and trade pressure to ensure that cotton production in Uzbekistan is no longer characterized by the use of state- sponsored, forced child and adult labour and devastating environmental impacts, to benefit a small, corrupt, ruling elite”.
Kyrgyz leader says Western democracy unsuitable
23.03.2010. Category:Kyrgyzstan
AP-------Kyrgyzstan’s president said Tuesday that Western-style democracy has run its course in the ex-Soviet Central Asian country, prompting fears of a further decline in political freedoms.
President Kurmanbek Bakiyev told a national congress that democracy based on elections and individual human rights may no longer be suitable for Kyrgyzstan. He said "consultative democracy," envisaging dialogues with influential social groups, would be more in keeping with his country's traditions.More ...
President Kurmanbek Bakiyev told a national congress that democracy based on elections and individual human rights may no longer be suitable for Kyrgyzstan. He said "consultative democracy," envisaging dialogues with influential social groups, would be more in keeping with his country's traditions.More ...
Kazakhstan's foreign minister on his country's unlikely new role as Europe's democracy watchdog.
17.03.2010. Category:Kazakhstan
In a landmark for Central Asia, Kazakhstan this year has taken over the rotating chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) -- a key intergovernmental organization that monitors everything from security cooperation to political and human rights in 56 member states across Europe. It is the first former Soviet state, the first Muslim country, and the first country east of Austria to assume the chairmanship. But Kazakhstan is hardly a paragon of European democracy. Its authoritarian government, headed by longtime President Nursultan Nazarbayev, doesn't allow political parties to compete freely, is routinely accused of violating human rights, and is officially classified as "Not Free" by the U.S. NGO Freedom House. So how, ask critics, can Kazakhstan possibly be charged with upholding democratic standards in other countries?
JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty ImagesMore ...
JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty ImagesMore ...
Kyrgyz opposition newspaper seized before prote
16.03.2010. Category:Kyrgyzstan
REUTERS ----- Police in Kyrgyzstan have seized all copies of an opposition newspaper before a planned anti-government rally in the Central Asian country, the paper's owner said on Tuesday.More ...
Sting in the pay of tyrannical Uzbekistan regime
24.02.2010. Category:Uzbekistan
Once again we must ponder the question "how much money is enough?", inspired by reports that Sting accepted between £1m and £2m to perform for the glory of the brutal despotic regime in Uzbekistan.
Sting with Gulnara Karimova at a fashion show in Uzbekistan. Photograph: GettyMore ...
Sting with Gulnara Karimova at a fashion show in Uzbekistan. Photograph: GettyMore ...
Into the iris of insanity: dissent, psychiatry, and the true face of Turkmen totalitarianism
24.02.2010. Category:Turkmenistan
In a country like Turkmenistan, who is really the crazy one?
Kakabay Tedzhenov is a former inmate of a psychiatric hospital in Turkmenistan. Telling his shocking story, the 73 year-old-pensioner, now living in a small town in Russia, remembers:
It was cold during winter inside the house I lived and so were the conditions for my neighbors, in Turkmenabad, where I lived. One day I sent a petition to the local authorities demanding better heating in my house in order to put an end to the situation I faced every winter. I went on to send several petitions, but the only result was that the local authorities began to persecute me.
I didn’t give up. I went all the way the President [Niyazov]. One evening [in January 2006] men in white clothes came to my house and forcefully packed me into a car. First I didn’t know what they had in mind but then I was taken into a heavily guarded building and locked in a room with four mentally ill people. It was the infamous Boyunuzyn psychiatric hospital.
I was injected with various drugs, including Amenazin, a drug which caused me terrible pain and health problems. I got sick and was taken for surgery, after which I was returned [to Boyunuzyn]. In total, I spent ten months in Boyunuzyn. I owe my release to the intense advocacy of rights groupswho protested my detention.
Two months after Tedzhenov’s release, Niyazov suddenly died. It seemed a fitting capstone to the story. Yet, Tedzhenov was neither the first — nor the last — prisoner of conscience to be subjected to psychiatry as a form of torture.
Indeed, the abuse of psychiatry for political purposes gets less attention in Turkmenistan than other “traditional” methods of repression, such as imprisonment and torture.More ...
Kakabay Tedzhenov is a former inmate of a psychiatric hospital in Turkmenistan. Telling his shocking story, the 73 year-old-pensioner, now living in a small town in Russia, remembers:
It was cold during winter inside the house I lived and so were the conditions for my neighbors, in Turkmenabad, where I lived. One day I sent a petition to the local authorities demanding better heating in my house in order to put an end to the situation I faced every winter. I went on to send several petitions, but the only result was that the local authorities began to persecute me.
I didn’t give up. I went all the way the President [Niyazov]. One evening [in January 2006] men in white clothes came to my house and forcefully packed me into a car. First I didn’t know what they had in mind but then I was taken into a heavily guarded building and locked in a room with four mentally ill people. It was the infamous Boyunuzyn psychiatric hospital.
I was injected with various drugs, including Amenazin, a drug which caused me terrible pain and health problems. I got sick and was taken for surgery, after which I was returned [to Boyunuzyn]. In total, I spent ten months in Boyunuzyn. I owe my release to the intense advocacy of rights groupswho protested my detention.
Two months after Tedzhenov’s release, Niyazov suddenly died. It seemed a fitting capstone to the story. Yet, Tedzhenov was neither the first — nor the last — prisoner of conscience to be subjected to psychiatry as a form of torture.
Indeed, the abuse of psychiatry for political purposes gets less attention in Turkmenistan than other “traditional” methods of repression, such as imprisonment and torture.More ...
Turning point in Aliyev case?
23.02.2010. Category:Kazakhstan
The Kazakh Government gave the Austrian authorites guarantees, that the former son-in-law of the Kazakh President Nazarbayev, Dr. Rakhad Aliyev will be treated under European Human Rights standards, if the Austrian court will detain him back to Kazakhstan. This was confirmed by the Kazakh Ambassador in Austria, Kasychanov.
He pointed out that Dr. Aliyev might also have retrial proceedings, which would be conductes under the UN Human Rights Convention. In addition, the Office of the General Prosecutor in Kazakhstan sent an official letter to its colleagues in Vienna, saying that an international observation of Dr. Aliyev’s possible future imprisonment would be welcomed by Kazakh authorities.
According to Austrian officials, this reaction by the Kazakh officials could be a „turning point in the case“, because until now, Dr. Aliyev was fighting against a possible extradition with the argument, he would be tortured in his home country. Manfred Nowak, UN Rapporteur against torture, underlined recently that systematic torture would no longer be used in Kazakhstan.
In addition, Austrian officials, who want to stay confidential, confirmed additional investigations against Dr. Aliyev regarding abduction and torture in connection with the death of Ms. Novikova.
He pointed out that Dr. Aliyev might also have retrial proceedings, which would be conductes under the UN Human Rights Convention. In addition, the Office of the General Prosecutor in Kazakhstan sent an official letter to its colleagues in Vienna, saying that an international observation of Dr. Aliyev’s possible future imprisonment would be welcomed by Kazakh authorities.
According to Austrian officials, this reaction by the Kazakh officials could be a „turning point in the case“, because until now, Dr. Aliyev was fighting against a possible extradition with the argument, he would be tortured in his home country. Manfred Nowak, UN Rapporteur against torture, underlined recently that systematic torture would no longer be used in Kazakhstan.
In addition, Austrian officials, who want to stay confidential, confirmed additional investigations against Dr. Aliyev regarding abduction and torture in connection with the death of Ms. Novikova.
Invitation: ETG Central Asia Discussions 2010
16.02.2010. Category:Turkmenistan
Invitation:
ETG will host a roundtable discussion March 5, 2010 in Vienna.
„Turkmenistan - Western Influence: Energy Interests and Political Implications“
Topics will be:
Turkmen Gas and Nabucco
The political situation in Turkmenistan
Geopolitics
Possible strategies of EU, OSCE and US
Key Speakers will be:
Alain Délétroz, Vice President Europe, International Crisis Group (ICG)
Arkady Dubnov, Journalist and Turkmenistan Expert
Nurmukhamed Hanamov, former Ambassador of Turkmenistan and Expert on the political and social situation
If you are interested to participate, please send us a short mail.
ETG will host a roundtable discussion March 5, 2010 in Vienna.
„Turkmenistan - Western Influence: Energy Interests and Political Implications“
Topics will be:
Turkmen Gas and Nabucco
The political situation in Turkmenistan
Geopolitics
Possible strategies of EU, OSCE and US
Key Speakers will be:
Alain Délétroz, Vice President Europe, International Crisis Group (ICG)
Arkady Dubnov, Journalist and Turkmenistan Expert
Nurmukhamed Hanamov, former Ambassador of Turkmenistan and Expert on the political and social situation
If you are interested to participate, please send us a short mail.
Kazakhstan lifts critical reporting ban
09.02.2010. Category:Kazakhstan
A Kazakhstan court has overturned a ruling that banned the media from publishing criticism of President Nursultan Nazarbayev's son-in-law.More ...
Journalists under pressure as parliamentary elections approach
08.02.2010. Category:Tajikistan
With parliamentary elections fast approaching, print journalists in Tajikistan are coming under increasing pressure, media watchdogs say.More ...
Bukhara is agitated with rumors about murders and mass arrests
08.02.2010. Category:Uzbekistan
In the first days of February Ferghana.Ru office received few messages about the outbreak of criminal events in Uzbekistan. Unfortunately, we are not able to confirm or reject the majority of them. First of all, the official authorities of Uzbekistan ignore our questions. Secondly, being concerned about their own security, the witnesses (if any) are not always willing to testify.More ...
OSCE media freedom representative criticizes 'misuse' of libel laws to muzzle the press in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Hungary
08.02.2010. Category:Kazakhstan | Tajikistan
Miklos Haraszti, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, condemned today as "dangerous attempts at censorship" lawsuits initiated by high-ranking government officials in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Hungary against domestic media outlets for reporting on critical statements made by other public figures.More ...
Interview with CSCE Co-Chair A. Hastings on Kazakhstan
05.02.2010. Category:Kazakhstan
Co-Chairman Hastings Interview with Erica Marat of Voice of America
Question:Good morning, Congressman Hastings. It is our pleasure to have you here at VOA. My question is: you supported Kazakhstan’s bid to chair the OSCE back in 2007. Please tell us the main reason for your support.
Co-Chairman Hastings:That’s a very good question and, I had been involved at that time in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe for almost 12 years and including at some point a few years back becoming the president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE. I worked with the Central Asian countries pretty much six or seven years after they gained their independence in the early ‘90s until today.More ...
Question:Good morning, Congressman Hastings. It is our pleasure to have you here at VOA. My question is: you supported Kazakhstan’s bid to chair the OSCE back in 2007. Please tell us the main reason for your support.
Co-Chairman Hastings:That’s a very good question and, I had been involved at that time in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe for almost 12 years and including at some point a few years back becoming the president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE. I worked with the Central Asian countries pretty much six or seven years after they gained their independence in the early ‘90s until today.More ...
Kazakhstan's foreign minister on his country's unlikely new role as Europe's democracy watchdog.
05.02.2010. Category:Kazakhstan
In a landmark for Central Asia, Kazakhstan this year has taken over the rotating chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) -- a key intergovernmental organization that monitors everything from security cooperation to political and human rights in 56 member states across Europe.More ...
Not a fair deal - Turkmenistan's relations with the West
04.02.2010. Category:Turkmenistan
When Turkmenistan began opening up to the outside world following the death of President Saparmurat Niazov three years ago, the theory was that increased economic engagement by Western states would encourage a more general relaxation of policy in such areas as human rights and political liberties.
Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov with Hillary Clinton: Photo by US State Department.More ...
Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov with Hillary Clinton: Photo by US State Department.More ...
In the fight of judges versus journalists, both sides face hard choices
03.02.2010. Category:Tajikistan
The first hearing on the lawsuit by three judges against three independent newspapers in Tajikistan was held yesterday (Tuesday, 2 February). It showed that there will be serious battles ahead between the two sides precisely because so much is at stake. Will the government choose power over justice? Will the media choose safety over truth?More ...
OSCE welcomes Kazakhstan as chair, but raises its record on rights
03.02.2010. Category:Kazakhstan
The U.S. arm of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has welcomed Kazakhstan as the new chair of the organization but cautioned the former Soviet republic that it must improve its own rights record if it wants to be effective in its new role.
OSCE Chairman n Office Kanat Saudabaev says his government will deepen the OSCE's humanitarian engagement in Afghanistan
February 02, 2010More ...
OSCE Chairman n Office Kanat Saudabaev says his government will deepen the OSCE's humanitarian engagement in Afghanistan
February 02, 2010More ...
OSCE media freedom representative concerned about persecution of journalists in Uzbekistan
02.02.2010. Category:Uzbekistan
The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Miklos Haraszti, said today that he was deeply concerned by the continuing harassment of journalists in Uzbekistan.
More ...
More ...Photographer faces jail for 'defaming' life in Uzbekistan
29.01.2010. Category:Uzbekistan
Amnesty International has urged the Uzbekistani government to allow its people freedom of expression after one of the country's most prominent photographers was charged with "defamation of the Uzbekistani people“.
More ...
More ...Turkmen students allowed to leave the ountry
29.01.2010. Category:Turkmenistan
Good news: Turkmenistan’s government has finally given the green light to students enrolled at private foreign universities to continue their studies abroad, putting an end to six months of uncertainty.More ...
Turkmen Leader to End Rights Abuses
28.01.2010. Category:Turkmenistan
President Nicolas Sarkozy should use the upcoming state visit by his Turkmen counterpart to speak out about Turkmenistan's abysmal human rights record and to press for concrete improvements, the French League for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, International Federation for Human Rights, and Reporters Without Borders said today.
More ...
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Torture in Uzbekistan : still systematic and unpunished
20.01.2010. Category:Uzbekistan
The report was prepared from materials collected from the monitoring of the rights of persons under investigation and in detention. The monitoring was conducted during eight months in 2009 by the Human Rights Alliance of Uzbekistan and Committee for the Liberation of Prisoners of Conscience, both based in Tashkent, Uzbekistan .
The Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights, based in Berlin, provided assistance with the collation and analysis of the data. Monitoring was conducted through interviews with individuals released from prisons, victims of torture, relatives of the convicted, and persons serving prison sentences and includes observation of court hearings. In addition, official responses from government agencies to claims of torture from alleged victims, press releases, and statements from local human rights organizations were included in the review.
The Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights, based in Berlin, provided assistance with the collation and analysis of the data. Monitoring was conducted through interviews with individuals released from prisons, victims of torture, relatives of the convicted, and persons serving prison sentences and includes observation of court hearings. In addition, official responses from government agencies to claims of torture from alleged victims, press releases, and statements from local human rights organizations were included in the review.
Consideration of the third periodic report under Article 40 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
18.01.2010. Category:Uzbekistan
The Expert Working Group of Uzbek NGOs and human rights practitioners prepared this report to inform the process of consideration for the third periodic report of Uzbekistan by the United Nations Human Rights Committee under the Article 40 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Previously Uzbekistan reported on the 83rd session of the UN Human Rights Committee held in March 2005.
The report covers the events for the period of 2005 to 2009. As for the range of issues, the current report largely repeats the previous 2005 NGO submission regarding the many problems and failures of the Uzbek Government to insure the rights guaranteed by the Covenant persisted.More ...
The report covers the events for the period of 2005 to 2009. As for the range of issues, the current report largely repeats the previous 2005 NGO submission regarding the many problems and failures of the Uzbek Government to insure the rights guaranteed by the Covenant persisted.More ...
Uzbek secret services collect the records about independent journalists
15.01.2010. Category:Uzbekistan
The Tashkent Public Prosecutor’s office conducted the series of interrogations of several independent journalists, working in Uzbekistan. On January 7 five of them – Vasiliy Markov, Sid Yanyshev, Abdumalik Boboev, Khusniddin Kutbiddinov and Marina Kozlova (that cooperated with various foreign mass media) were called for "an interview" with Bakhrom Nurmatov, the assistant Public Prosecutor of Tashkent. Vasiliy Markov and Abdumalik Boboev refused to show up without official notice; the rest of journalists met Mr. Nurmatov.
Each of the journalists was presented their own detailed record with articles, bio and other documents. Mr. Nurmatov informed that these documents were delivered from National Security Service (NSS) and Uzbek Foreign Affairs Ministry.More ...
Each of the journalists was presented their own detailed record with articles, bio and other documents. Mr. Nurmatov informed that these documents were delivered from National Security Service (NSS) and Uzbek Foreign Affairs Ministry.More ...
EU ignores Turkmen rights abuse, seeks gas
18.11.2009. Category:Turkmenistan
An international human rights watchdog on Tuesday accused the European Union of ignoring rights abuses in energy-rich Turkmenistan in the hopes of securing future natural gas supplies.More ...
All That Gas?: The EU and Turkmenistan
18.11.2009. Category:Turkmenistan
The European Commission is turning a blind eye to corruption, lack of transparency and poor human rights in the repressive police state of Turkmenistan in a bid to secure future gas supplies, according to a new illustrated briefing paper from the campaign group Global Witness, launched on the eve of the 2009 oil and gas conference in Ashgabat, the Turkmen capital.
The report, ‘All that Gas?’ represents an innovative collaboration between Global Witness and cutting-edge satirical cartoonist, David Rees, who has produced original artwork for the publication. His seven new cartoons feature EU bureaucrats discussing crude strategies to ‘get the gas’. Rees is best-known for his US cartoon series ‘Get Your War On’, published on the internet and in Rolling Stone magazine.
Downloads:
All That Gas? (11/2009) Hi-res PDF
All That Gas? (11/2009) Lo-res version
Comic Strips (in Turkmen)
Comic Strips (Na russkom)
David Rees' Comic Strips (In English, hi-res)
Gazovyi vopros (11/2009), Word, na russkom
Hemme zat gaz üçinmi? (11/2009) Word, Türkmen
Press-Release (11/2009)
Source: Global Witness
The report, ‘All that Gas?’ represents an innovative collaboration between Global Witness and cutting-edge satirical cartoonist, David Rees, who has produced original artwork for the publication. His seven new cartoons feature EU bureaucrats discussing crude strategies to ‘get the gas’. Rees is best-known for his US cartoon series ‘Get Your War On’, published on the internet and in Rolling Stone magazine.
Downloads:
All That Gas? (11/2009) Hi-res PDF All That Gas? (11/2009) Lo-res version Comic Strips (in Turkmen) 
Comic Strips (Na russkom) 
David Rees' Comic Strips (In English, hi-res) 
Gazovyi vopros (11/2009), Word, na russkom Hemme zat gaz üçinmi? (11/2009) Word, Türkmen Press-Release (11/2009) Source: Global Witness
Sting, Valentino and others are visiting Gulnara Karimova
09.10.2009. Category:Uzbekistan
On October 17, 2009 under Art-Week Style.Uz-2009 project in Tashkent the opera house, named after Alisher Navoi, will host concert of legendary Sting. The ticket prices range from 2000000 to 4000000 sums (about $1100-2200). For information, this is one or two annual salaries of the college teachers in Uzbekistan.More ...
Ambassador of conscience: Interview with Craig Murray
08.10.2009. Category:Uzbekistan | Central Asia
In 2002, Craig Murray, British ambassador to Uzbekistan, encountered something that he would describe as the real evil: the brutal campaign of torture and repression by the Islam Karimov regime. Later, in an interview with the Guardian, Murray described his encounters with victims of torture in Tashkent: “People come to me very often after being tortured. Normally this includes homosexual and heterosexual rape of close relatives in front of the victim; rape with objects such as broken bottles; asphyxiation; pulling out of fingernails; smashing of limbs with blunt objects; and use of boiling liquids including complete immersion of the body. This is not uncommon. Thousands of people a year suffer from this torture at the hands of the authorities.”
More ...
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U.S. OSCE official says dialogue best way to spread democracy
07.10.2009. Category:Central Asia
Michael Haltzel, a professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, heads the U.S. delegation at the OSCE's "Human Dimension" workshop taking place in Warsaw on September 28-29. In an interview with RFE/RL correspondent Ahto Lobjakas, he says engagement remains the best way to tackle difficult regimes. He also says he hopes to see gradual progress in those post-Soviet nations where human rights abuses remain regular and democratic standards have yet to take root. More ...
French President Sarkozy on state visit in Astana
07.10.2009. Category:Kazakhstan
France and Kazakhstan have signed energy and business deals worth $6bn (£3.8bn) during a visit to Astana by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.More ...
The European Union’s consideration to lift the arms embargo on Uzbekistan gives the signal to Uzbekistan’s government that the EU is prepared to accept Uzbekistan’s atrocious human rights record
05.10.2009. Category:Uzbekistan
The European Union’s consideration to lift the arms embargo on Uzbekistan gives the signal to Uzbekistan’s government that the EU is prepared to accept Uzbekistan’s atrocious human rights record.More ...
Allow access, freedom for civil society
02.10.2009. Category:Turkmenistan
Human Rights Watch joined the Norwegian Helsinki Committee and 13 other groups in issuing a statement today calling on governments and companies that have recently gained access to Turkmenistan to use their connection to improve the lives of the country's more than 5 million people. The groups said these governments and companies should also press Turkmenistan to allow international civil society groups and human rights organizations to work in the country.More ...
Uzbek Appeals Court Upholds Sentence on Journalist
25.09.2009. Category:Uzbekistan
Human rights activists and media experts have expressed disappointment at an appeals court’s decision to uphold a 12-year sentence handed down to journalist Dilmurod Sayid a month-and-a-half earlier.
The decision was made on September 11, when the Samarkand provincial court reviewed Sayid’s appeal.More ...
The decision was made on September 11, when the Samarkand provincial court reviewed Sayid’s appeal.More ...
Senior OSCE official visits Kazakh rights defender in detention, stresses importance of fair appeals process
21.09.2009. Category:Kazakhstan
Following a meeting today with Kazakh human rights defender Yevgeny Zhovtis in the detention centre where he is held outside Almaty, the first deputy director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), Douglas Wake, stressed the importance of full respect for fair trial standards in the consideration of Zhovtis' appeal.More ...
Uzbek human rights “progress” claim
16.09.2009. Category:Uzbekistan
Human rights activists in Uzbekistan say they disagree strongly with claims by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, OSCE, that the human rights situation is improving in the country.More ...
Human Rights activist sentenced
04.09.2009. Category:Kazakhstan
Yevgeny Zhovtis, one of Kazakhstan’s leading human rights activists, was found guilty on September 3 of vehicular manslaughter and sentenced to four years in prison. Prior to the reading of the verdict, Zhovtis denounced his two-day trial as a "political setup."More ...
Trial against Human Rights activist opened
03.09.2009. Category:Kazakhstan
One of Kazakhstan’s most prominent human rights activists went on trial September 2, charged with causing death by dangerous driving. The trial has cast a spotlight on Kazakhstan’s judicial system. It is also being viewed as a litmus test of Astana’s commitment to democratic procedures, coming as it does just four months before Kazakhstani officials take over the helm of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).More ...
New abuse of jailed dissident
28.08.2009. Category:Uzbekistan
Uzbek authorities should promptly investigate new allegations of abuse against a political prisoner, Yusuf Jumaev, and ensure that his family is permitted regular visits, Human Rights Watch said today.More ...
Confessions of an Uzbek KGB officer
21.08.2009. Category:Uzbekistan
Newsnight hears the testimony of a man who claims he was an Uzbek intelligence officer.
Ikram Yakubov, who has defected from Uzbekistan, claims he was forced to fabricate evidence against innocent people and witnessed people being tortured.
He spoke to Peter Marshall.
You can watch the interview on BBC here.
Ikram Yakubov, who has defected from Uzbekistan, claims he was forced to fabricate evidence against innocent people and witnessed people being tortured.
He spoke to Peter Marshall.
You can watch the interview on BBC here.
Rights Activist Arrested
21.08.2009. Category:Uzbekistan
Uzbek authorities should immediately drop any unsubstantiated criminal charges against Oyazimhon Hidirova, chairman of the Arnasai Branch of the International Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan, and free her from pre-trial detention, Human Rights Watch said today. More ...
Meet Human Rights standards
04.06.2009. Category:Kazakhstan
(Almaty) - The Kazakh government has seven months to improve its human rights record to meet the standards of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) before it takes over the institution's chairmanship, Human Rights Watch said today.More ...
Rights group calls on Turkmenistan to back up promises
26.03.2009. Category:Turkmenistan
The Turkmen government should fully implement the recommendations issued by the UN’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR), the rights watchdog Amnesty International has said.More ...
Hillary Clinton and Michel Obama to present the award of courage to Mutabar Tajiba
12.03.2009. Category:Uzbekistan
On March 11, at the solemn ceremony in Washington DC the US State Secretary Hillary Clinton and first lady Michel Obama will present «International Women Courage» award to the representatives of eight countries: Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Russia, Guatemala, Iraq, Malaysia, Nigeria and Yemen.More ...
Prominent human rights activist Maxim Kushelov is placed to psychiatric facility
05.03.2009. Category:Kyrgyzstan
On March 4, 2009 the prominent Kyrgyz human rights activist Maxim Kushelov was arrested together with the colleague Mihail Kosolapov by the police on the way to White House of Kyrgyzstan, where they were planning to organize another demonstration under “Street Democracy lessons”.More ...
Clinton to present award to Uzbek Human Rights defender
05.03.2009. Category:Uzbekistan
Uzbek human rights defender and former political prisoner Mutabar Tajibaeva will receive the International Women of Courage award in Washington next week. More ...
Human rights and military bases
05.03.2009. Category:Kyrgyzstan | Uzbekistan
In his Washington Post op ed last week, Kyrgyzstan’s long-time ambassador to the U.S. gave us a fascinating insight into the process of base negotiations. Once the U.S. had its base, he wrote, all concerns about human rights and democracy went out the window. The base became the alpha and omega of the U.S.-Kyrgyz relationship, a development he wisely termed detrimental to both sides. With U.S. expulsion from its prime supply base in Kyrgyzstan now looming on the horizon just as the Obama Administration prepares to implement its ramp-up in neighboring Afghanistan, the U.S. quest for a base to replace Manas (Ganci) Air Force Base is getting feverish. And how does this affect human rights policy?More ...
Russia does not protect its citizens in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan
05.03.2009. Category:Turkmenistan | Uzbekistan
On March 2, the independent press-center hosted the press-conference “On the protection of compatriots’ rights in Turkmenistan. The problem in the freedom of move for citizens of Uzbekistan” in Moscow. The press-conference was attended by deputy manager of Human Rights Commissioner in Russia Georgyi Kunadze, Civil Assistance Committee chairman, Memorial human rights center Council member Svetlana Gannushkina, Memorial human rights center Central Asian program head Vitalyi Ponomarev and Vremya novostei international observer Arkadyi Dubnov.More ...
Two more independent journalists behind bars
05.03.2009. Category:Uzbekistan
Two independent Uzbek journalists arrested on trumped-up charges should be released immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.More ...
German NGO banned by Tajik authorities
16.02.2009. Category:Tajikistan
A Dushanbe court has banned the activities of a German NGO operating in Tajikistan, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports.More ...
Astana willing to adress torture issue
16.02.2009. Category:Kazakhstan
Kazakhstani human rights activists involved in a project to tackle torture in three Central Asian states have given a cautious welcome to Astana’s willingness to engage on the issue. Activists offer far less enthusiastic assessments when discussing the use of torture in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.More ...
Turkmenistan: Continuing failure to fulfil promises
12.02.2009. Category:Turkmenistan
Politically motivated harassment, detentions and imprisonments continue unabated in Turkmenistan despite the government's promises to uphold human rights, Amnesty International said today, ahead of the government’s second anniversary. More ...
Jailed activist remains out of contact with wife and lawyer
23.01.2009. Category:Uzbekistan
Mutabar Turgunova told RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service that her husband, Azam, a well-known human rights activist who is serving a 10-year sentence, has had no contact with his lawyer or with her since December.
A vocal human rights activist for more than a decade, Turgunov has defended the rights of political and religious prisoners and protested against the use of torture in Uzbekistan's prisons.
He once told Human Rights Watch that "if everybody stays silent, the situation would get even worse."
In October, he was tried and convicted on charges of extortion.
But since the case was reviewed last month, "neither I nor his lawyer know where he is," Turgunova said.More ...
A vocal human rights activist for more than a decade, Turgunov has defended the rights of political and religious prisoners and protested against the use of torture in Uzbekistan's prisons.
He once told Human Rights Watch that "if everybody stays silent, the situation would get even worse."
In October, he was tried and convicted on charges of extortion.
But since the case was reviewed last month, "neither I nor his lawyer know where he is," Turgunova said.More ...
US and Central Asia during the "Obama Era"; Interview Deutsche Welle (in Russian)
21.01.2009. Category:Central Asia
"В фокусе будет находиться Афганистан, а права человека и дальнейшая демократизация в Центральной Азии не будут столь важны"- считает немецкий экспертMore ...
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan as a Ministry of Propaganda
20.01.2009. Category:Uzbekistan
On January 15 2009 Embassy of Uzbekistan to the United States released a press release on the consideration of Uzbekistan’s National Report within the framework of Universal Periodic Report of UN Human Rights Council.
More ...Death threats against journalist continue
14.01.2009. Category:Turkmenistan
Journalist Osman Hallyev continues to receive death threats as pressure on him and his family members continues because of his work for RFE/RL's Turkmen Service.More ...
Freedom House: Human Rights Erosion in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan continued in 2008
14.01.2009. Category:Tajikistan | Turkmenistan | Kyrgyzstan | Kazakhstan | Uzbekistan | Central Asia
According to US-based Freedom House recent Freedom In The World 2009 (FITW) annual report, based on analysis of the events from January 1 to December 31 of 2009, none of Central Asia states had positively changed the situation with human right.
More ...HRW calls on the new US President to reverse the damage of the Bush years
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has used its annual report to urge the incoming Obama administration to make the protection and defense of human rights the central tenant of its policy decisions on foreign and national affairs.More ...