RSF says that the Uzbek government is engaging in a campaign of denigration against independent journalists.
The Uzbek secret services (SNB) has been instructing newspapers to carry ready written unsigned articles that vilify independent journalists who covered events in Andijan, calling them “traitors to the country” and “liars”.
The sole journalist who managed to remain in Andijan after the events of 13 May 2005, Alexsey Volosevich, correspondent for the website www.fergana.ru, was targeted in an article carried on 3 June by the weekly Mokhiyat, portraying him as a hooligan. The newspaper Zerkalo XXI also carried an extremely virulent article on 9 June 2005 against independent radio Ozodlik (Radio Liberty), giving biased details about the personal life of journalist Hamroqul Qarshiev. The article concluded, “We will not abandon our country to foreign enemies”.
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Nathan Hamm – author of 2040 posts on Registan.net.
Nathan founded Registan.net in 2003. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uzbekistan 2000-2001 and received his MA in Central Asian Studies from the University of Washington in 2007. Since 2007, he has worked full-time as an analyst, consulting with clients on Central Asian affairs, specializing in how socio-cultural factors shape risks and opportunities. Follow him on Twitter or drop him a line.