So, I recently noticed that hits are coming in from Uzbekistan again. Has Registan.net been unblocked for some reason? It was after a post on Gulnora Karimova that the block was noticed. Perhaps that was merely a coincidence, but that is the kind of coincidence that rings alarm bells. So, as an experiment, let’s see what happens after this post…
Down in Houston, Interspan Distribution Coporation is suing Liberty Insurance. You might wonder to yourself, “What, pray tell, does this have to do with Uzbekistan, let alone Gulnora Karimova?” Well, a bit, apparently.
Interspan Distribution Corporation, headquartered in The Woodlands, has filed suit in Houston federal court against Liberty Insurance, alleging the insurers have refused to pay claims regarding the kidnapping and ransom of Interspan employees in Uzbekistan.
The suit says employees there are also subject to torture, sham trials, sexual assault “and possibly death,” all by a ring controlled by Gulnara Karimova, daughter of Uzbekistan president Islam Karimov.
Interspan imports tea into Uzbekistan, and they made one of the biggest mistakes a company can make in the world of Uzbek business. They were too good at what they did.
“Ms. Karimova is widely reported to use government entities illegally to force profitable businesses either to partner with her or to surrender the businesses’ assets to her,” the suit says.
Considering the number of times other successful businesses have experienced how unfortunate it is to be successful in Uzbekistan, this story does not seem at all far-fetched. It would be great to see the documents filed by Interspan.
This post was written by...
Nathan Hamm – author of 2974 posts on Registan.net.
Nathan is the Founding Editor and Publisher of Registan.net, which he launched 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 private and government clients on Central Asian affairs, specializing in how socio-cultural and political factors shape risks and opportunities and how organizations can adjust their strategic and operational plans to account for these variables. Nathan is currently seeking research, analysis, and consulting opportunities. He can be contacted via Twitter or email.
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Nathan, Thank you for this interesting post. Maybe you can get the court filings from Interspan’s attorney?
Only MFA and NSS have a full and no-monitoring access to internet in the whole of Uzbekistan. at least, you can now boast with the quality of your readers. great success!
Only MFA and NSS have a full and no-monitoring access to internet in the whole of Uzbekistan. at least, you can now boast with the quality of your readers. great success!
Botir, what is NSS?
Nomad, I’d assume it’s the National Security Service.
I love Gulnara stories. They’re a bucket of so many of Uzbekistan’s problems distilled and concentrated into an easily consumed 100g shot glass.
Gulnara’s also apparently responsible for a newly constructed College of Law in Bukhara. Irony anyone?
if the name appears on vanity fair, one has to admit that it is ain’t no insignificant person we are dealing with, ladies and gentlemen. http://www.vanityfair.de/articles/leute/gulnara-karimova/2007/05/04/00746/
She’s also got some high-powered Washington help:
http://harpers.org/archive/2007/05/hbc-90000048
http://www.huliq.com/22024/pop-star-rayhon-disagrees-with-gulnara-karimova-presidents-daughter – 15k