Islam Karimov - Human Rights and Press Freedom

Human Rights and Press Freedom

The international community has repeatedly criticized the Karimov administration's record on human rights and press freedom. In particular, Craig Murray, the British Ambassador from 2002 to 2004, described widespread torture, kidnapping, murder, rape by the police, financial corruption, religious persecution, censorship, and other human rights abuses. This included the case of Karimov's security forces executing prisoners Muzafar Avazov and Khuzniddin Alimov by boiling them alive in 2002. Murray became noted within the British government for memos disagreeing with official UK & US policy, which was at the time to back up Karimov as part of the global war on terror. Uzbekistan was used for extraordinary rendition and for the air base in Karshi-Khanabad. Murray wrote a memoir about his experiences; Murder in Samarkand, retitled Dirty Diplomacy in the United States.

In response, the Uzbek government criticized Murray for not behaving like a genuine British ambassador. It informally stated that diplomacy is more about mutual compromise rather than one-handed harsh criticism. The British government replaced him in 2005.

The United Nations found torture "institutionalized, systematic, and rampant" in Uzbekistan's judicial system. For several years, Parade magazine has selected Karimov as one of the world's worst dictators, citing his tactics of torture, media censorship, and fake elections.

Karimov's Party apparatus gained effective control over the media during the immediate independence period. Due to a poor human rights and democratization record, the Karimov administration worked to improve its image by allowing broadcasts from Radio Liberty and Radio Free Europe. A tarnished record had harmed the efforts to gain greater access to developmental aid and foreign investment.

According to the Uzbek Constitution freedom of expression in the media is nominally guaranteed. The Karimov administration has persistently violated this press freedom. Article 67 states that "Censorship is not permitted." Under the Karimov government, all media publications must be "held accountable for the reliability" of the information released. This "accountability" actually introduces an opportunity for further government censorship, as the definition of "accountability" is left to the Karimov administration's discretion. Article 29 states that all freedom of media expression is to be allowed with the exceptions of releasing state secrets and statements against the Constitution. The printed media of Uzbekistan has a high number of publications, but is dominated by three: Khalq Sozi, its Russian edition Narodnoye Slovo, and another Russian-language publication, Pravda Vostoka. The state owns almost all media, and the State Control Inspecorate, located in Tashkent, secures tight editorial control. Topics deemed "sensitive" are not considered for publishing. A ban is in place that prevents publications that give space to "unregistered opinions." Arrests of journalists have been documented in Tashkent and Samarkand.

As a propaganda tool, the state strictly controls the tone and subject material of publish works. State censors give preference to works that provide a positive, uplifting ideology to its readers. Criticism that passes the censors is limited to low and mid-level officers. One publication, Vatantaraqqioh, is under investigation because of its criticism of the "lack of diversity" in the Uzbek press. Although the Karimov regime during the 1990s assumed a greater tolerance for foreign media, the state has heavily limited foreign publications during the past decade. There has been a considerable reduction of Russian-sponsored broadcasting, and Western media has diminished in publication as well. Forty-six financially independent television and radio broadcasts were taken off the air unexpectedly.

Banned publications under the Karimov administration include Mustaqil Haftalik and Erk, the respective publications of the Birilik and Erk opposition parties. The Karimov government charged each publication on the grounds of being "disloyal to the current regime.". In December 1995, Karimov was quoted in describing local journalists as "toothless." Karimov had essentially called for more criticism in printed material, but only "approved" criticism.

In May 2002, the Karimov administration lifted the pre-publication censorship, and fined the chief censor, Ervin Kamilov. The State Inspectorate for the Protection of State Secrets was disbanded. Two days later, the administration proceeded to reinstate further censorship measures. Among topics prohibited in Uzbekistan's publications are official corruption, opposition political parties and Islamic organizations. Radio Liberty lost its broadcast rights. Uzbekistan has one state-run internet server, UZPAK, that blocks prohibited websites.