30 Sep 10 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
Human rights campaigner Surat Ikramov was found guilty on libel charges on 28 September for an article he published about the suspicious death of singer Dilnura Kadyrjanova in 2007.
Ikramov, head of the Initiative Group of Independent Human Rights Activists of Uzbekistan, was fined 100,000 som (around $60) and ordered to publicly refute the article by publishing approved corrections. Authorities claimed the death of Kadyrjanova, who had been the mistress of a prominent police chief, was suicide. Ikramov’s report suggested that the police chief had used his position of power to prevent a full murder investigation.
17 Sep 10 | Index Index, minipost
Voice of America correspondent Abdulmalik Boboyev is facing between five and eight years in prison on four charges in Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent, by prosecutors brought against him on 13 September. Three of the charges relate to his work as a journalist: “defamation” , “insult” and “preparing and disseminating material constituting a threat to public order and security”.
Boboyev has also been charged with “illegal entry into the country” and has been banned from going abroad.
05 Feb 10 | Index Index, minipost
Photographer and documentary film-maker Umida Akhmedova has been charged with slandering and insulting the Uzkbek people. Under articles 139 and 140 of the criminal code the charges carry a maximum sentence of three years in jail. Akhmedova’s crime was to photograph men and women living in poverty in Uzbekistan, she also made a documentary about women’s rights.
22 Dec 09 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
A criminal case has been filed against the photographer and documentary film maker Umida Akhmedova in Uzbekistan for “slander” and “insult”. Akhmedova is incriminated for her involvement in “Women and men: from dawn till dusk” photo album, produced in 2007. The album consists of 110 pictures, reflecting lifestyle in Uzbekistan and according to the Tashkent public prosecutor’s office “is the insult and slander of Uzbek people”. It is unclear which photo is implicated but the charges could mean she faces six months in jail. Read more here
