Tag Archives: human rights

Uzbek president wants more powers for NGOs

DEC. 13 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Perhaps Uzbek President Islam Karimov plans to re-position himself as a defender of civil society. On Dec. 13 he signed a decree apparently aimed at promoting Uzbek non-government, non-profit organisations.

It’s, frankly, a curious agenda to push and the real reasons behind the drive to relax the burden on civil society are still to emerge. From Jan. 1 registration fees for local branches of NGO will be reduced.

It’s been hard for NGOs in Uzbekistan. They have routinely complained of inspections from tax officials which result in petty fines.

As for human rights groups, they’ve mainly been forced to leave. News agencies have been chased out too.

The list of problems that real NGOs and civil activists face in Uzbekistan is long, very long. This decree is likely to be window dressing. There is still a long way to go to strength civil society in Uzbekistan.

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(News report from Issue No. 165, published on Dec. 18 2013)

Activist receives award in Kazakhstan

DEC. 5 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Vadim Kuramshin, a Kazakh activist serving 12 years in prison for extortion, received an international award for human rights first given to Nelson Mandela in 1985.

The award by Ludovic-Trarieux International Human Rights Prize to Kuramshin will likely irritate the Kazakh authorities. Kuramshin had been an increasingly prominent human rights lawyer in Kazakhstan until he was jailed in December 2012. Kuramshin’s supporters have said that the charges have been fabricated.

He specialised in defending prisoners’ rights. Kazakhstan’s Soviet-era prisons are notoriously dangerous. They are run by gangs and rioting is common.

The Ludovic-Trarieux International Human Rights Prize was first awarded to former South African president Nelson Mandela when he was serving a life sentence in a jail in 1985.

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(News report from Issue No. 164, published on Dec. 11 2013)

Uzbekistan imposes travel ban on local journalists

DEC. 4 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Concerned that outside forces would influence its reporters, Uzbek state media banned its journalists from travelling abroad and from communicating with foreigners and diplomats in Uzbekistan. Media freedom and human rights lobby groups regularly criticise Uzbekistan as one of the most repressive regimes in the world.

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(News report from Issue No. 164, published on Dec. 11 2013)

ILO to publish report on Uzbekistan

DEC. 3 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — The International Labour Organisation (ILO) denied a report on the Uznews.net website which said it had not found evidence of child labour during its investigation of Uzbekistan’s cotton harvest. An ILO spokesperson said it was examining data and that it planned to issue a report in February.

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(News report from Issue No. 163, published on Dec. 4 2013)

Kazakhstan investigates child labour

DEC. 2 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan’s Prosecutor-General launched an investigation into possible child labour practices in southern Kazakhstan after it found 700 children picking cotton, media reported. International organisations have criticised Central Asia’s cotton industry, and in particular Uzbekistan, for using children to pick cotton harvests.

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(News report from Issue No. 163, published on Dec. 4 2013)

Jailed Uzbek editor receives award

NOV. 27 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — The media lobby group Reporters Without Borders handed its 2013 press freedom award to imprisoned Uzbek journalist Muhammad Bekzhanov. Bekzhanov edited an opposition newspaper until he was imprisoned in 1999 for plotting to a series of terrorist attacks.

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(News report from Issue No. 163, published on Dec. 4 2013)

Uzbek activist starts prison sentence

NOV. 23 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Bobomurod Razzoqov, a 60-year-old human rights activist from Bukhara in Uzbekistan, started serving a four year prison sentence following his conviction in September of human trafficking. Rights groups said the charges were fabricated. Uzbekistan has one of the worst human rights records in the world.

(News report from Issue No. 162, published on Nov. 27 2013)

UN report condemns torture in Uzbekistan

NOV. 22 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Torture in Uzbek prisons is widespread and systematic, the UN said in a new report. Human rights groups and the UN have said for years that Uzbekistan has one of the worst records on torture in the world. This new report, though, also said little was being done to improve prison conditions.

(News report from Issue No. 162, published on Nov. 27 2013)

Newspaper editor jailed in Azerbaijan

NOV. 14 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — A court in Baku sentenced Sardar Alibeili, editor of the independent P.S. Nota newspaper, to four years in jail for attacking another man in the street in July. Human rights groups around the world said the charges were false and accused the authorities of clamping down on free speech.

(News report from Issue No. 161, published on Nov. 20 2013)

Iran accuses Azerbaijan of torture

NOV. 18 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Iran has accused Azerbaijan of torturing one of its citizens, Iranian media reported. The accusation that Azerbaijani security forces arrested Iranian Hassan Faraji then tortured him may inflame tension between Azerbaijan and Iran. Azerbaijan has previously accused Iran of plotting bomb attacks in Baku.

(News report from Issue No. 161, published on Nov. 20 2013)