Tag Archives: rights and freedoms

Uzbek police force pious Muslims to shave beards

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JUNE 9 2021 (The Bulletin) — Police in Angren, east Uzbekistan, have forced pious Muslims to shave off their beards, the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported by quoting residents. According to the report, police ordered Muslims to their office to watch them shave. Despite talking up a liberal agenda, Uzbek officials are wary of overtly religious Muslims.

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— This story was published in issue 48 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on June 16 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Uzbek journalists accuse official of beating them up

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TASHKENT/JUNE 7 2021 (The Bulletin) — Concerns over the Uzbek authorities’ commitment to media freedom have once again been raised after journalists covering the trial in Andijan of three reporters accused of libel said that they had been beaten up by the son of a local official.

This year, the Uzbek government passed a law that bans criticism of Pres. Shavkat Mirziyoyev ahead of an election in October. This preceded the arrest of several journalists and bloggers, considered to be anti-government.

Western media freedom groups have become increasingly sceptical of statements by Pres. Mirziyoyev, who took over from the reclusive Islam Karimov in 2016, that he wants a more free society and open society in Uzbekistan.

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— This story was published in issue 487 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on June 9 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Abducted eductionalist held in Turkish embassy in Bishkek, says wife

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JUNE 6 2021 (The Bulletin) — Orhan Inandi, the Turkish educator and opposition figure, is being held captive at the Turkish embassy in Bishkek, his wife, Reyhan, said in a Twitter video. Mr Inandi disappeared on May 31 in an apparent abduction. His supporters have said that Turkish security forces kidnapped him. Turkish Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdogan blames supporters of the exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen for a failed coup attempt in 2016 and has vowed to track them down. Mr Inandi, who holds Turkish and Kyrgyz citizenship, is head of the Gulenist network of schools and universities in Kyrgyzstan.

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— This story was published in issue 487 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on June 9 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Yandex moves customer data onto local Uzbek servers

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JUNE 3 2021 (The Bulletin) — Yandex Go, the Russia-based ride-hailing service, said that it had complied with new Uzbek legislation that requires internet and social media companies to store data belonging to their users on servers inside Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan, which passed the legislation in April, has said that the law has been introduced to protect people and is pressuring Facebook and other Western companies to comply.

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— This story was published in issue 487 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on June 9 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Nazarbayev “frees” Belarusian protesters

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ALMATY/JUNE 2 2021 (The Bulletin) — Belarus freed three anti-government protesters after an intervention from former Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev, the spokesperson of Belarusian Pres. Aleksandr Lukashenko said, a few days before Kazakhstan also declined to join Russia-led sanctions against the West.

The three ethnic Polish Belarusian citizens — Irena Biernacka, Maria Tishkovska and Anna Panisheva — were freed on June 2 and sent to Poland. They had been in prison since March when they were arrested for spreading Nazi propaganda. Two other leaders of the Polish minority in Belarus are still in prison.

When asked why they had been released, Natalia Ejsmont, the Belarusian spokesperson, said: “Do you remember the talks between the Belarusian President and the first president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev? They took place in April, and it was then that the freeing of activists of the Union of Poles in Belarus was discussed. (Nazarbayev) asked for their release.” Mr Nazarbayev has not commented.

Pres. Lukashenko has cracked down hard on protesters since an election last year which his opponents said was rigged. Thousands have been imprisoned on charges that they say are arbitrary. Allegations of abuse and torture against the Belarusian security services are common.

News of the apparent intervention by Mr Nazarbayev, who likes to play the elder statesman in the former Soviet Union, came a few days before the Kazakh government declined to take part in Russia-organised sanctions against the West. The sanctions, which the Kremlin had expected the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) to back, were designed as retaliation against Western sanctions against Belarus after it forced a passenger jet flying from Athens to Vilnius to land in Minsk so that it could arrest a dissident journalist.

Explaining its decision not to back the sanctions, Kazakhstan said that it “takes the position that processes within the EAEU are purely economic.” Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan are EAEU members.

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— This story was published in issue 487 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on June 9 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Tajikistan celebrates Day of the Media despite poor press freedom record

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MARCH 11 (The Bulletin) — Media activists criticised the Tajik government for celebrating a Day of the Media despite having one  of the world’s worst media freedom records. During the day, six journalists were given awards. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has lodged a complaint with the authorities after two of its journalists were attacked at the end of February while investigating stories about fuel prices increases.

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— This story was published in issue 475 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on March 15 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Women in region march against violence

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MARCH 8 (The Bulletin) — Women in Central Asia and the South Caucasus’ biggest cities marched in protests against domestic violence on International Women’s Day. The region, known for its unreformed macho overtones, has one of the worst records in the world for domestic violence. Activists have said the coronavirus lockdowns have exacerbated the issue. Last year the women’s rights march in Bishkek was attacked by masked men. This year it passed off without incident.

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— This story was published in issue 475 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on March 15 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Tajik labourers say that Chinese firms abuse them

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DUSHANBE/MARCH 5 (The Bulletin) — Tajik labourers working for a Chinese firm constructing a  new government building in Dushanbe have complained of poor conditions and harassment, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported (March 5).

The Tajik workers refused to give their names to reporters because they said that if they were caught complaining, they would be fired. “All heavy and manual work in construction is done by Tajiks, and local workers wear yellow helmets and Chinese wear red hats. Most of them are employers, engineers and office workers,” one worker told RFE/RL.

Tajikistan is heavily in debt to China which has given dozens of soft loans to build roads, new government buildings and beautify Dushanbe and other cities.

Activists have said that Chinese companies’ attitude towards different workers has been made worse by the coronavirus pandemic.

“Most of the workers here are former migrants who can’t go to Russia because the border is closed,” said another person working on the site. Remittances from migrant workers typically make up around half of Tajikistan’s GDP.

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— This story was published in issue 475 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on March 15 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Tajik court imprisons son of opposition leader

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MARCH 1 2021 (The Bulletin) — A court in Tajikistan sentenced Shaikhmuslihiddin Rizoev, son of imprisoned opposition leader Mahmurod Odinaev, to six years in prison for hooliganism and rape, the US-funded RFE/RL reported.  Supporters of Rizoev have said that his sentence is being used to pressure his father and that he was attacked by unknown men and was defending himself during the alleged fight. His trial was held in secret.

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— This story was published in issue 474 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on March 5 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Police in Almaty detain demonstrators

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FEB. 28 2021  (The Bulletin) — Police in Almaty detained dozens of protesters who had been calling for the release of political prisoners in the largest anti-government demonstrations in Kazakhstan this year. In what has become fairly standard practice in Kazakhstan, police stopped protesters gathering in city centre squares and parks and detained leaders en route to the meetings. Activists have said that the right to protest barely exists in Kazakhstan.

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— This story was published in issue 474 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on March 5 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021