JUNE 13 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — In another sign of Uzbekistan’s growing acceptance by the West, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, a British government minister, visited Tashkent for talks. The West had previously shunned Uzbekistan for human rights abuses but they have now smoothed over relations as they need help Uzbek support to withdraw military equipment from Afghanistan.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 139, published on June 17 2013)
JUNE 7 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Khalida Ismayilova, an Azerbaijani academic, and Shamkhal Huseynov, her driver, returned to Azerbaijan after weeks in Iranian detention. The Iranian authorities detained Ms Ismayilova and Mr Huseynov in Tabriz on April 30. Relations between Azerbaijan and Iran have been increasingly strained.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 138, published on June 10 2013)
MAY 27 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused the Azerbaijani authorities of planting drugs on opposition politicians to imprison them. According to the HRW press release, the drug plants are part of crack-down against civil society ahead of a presidential election in October.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 137, published on June 3 2013)
MAY 22 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — After pressure from human rights groups, the Turkmen authorities released Rovshen Yazmuhamedov, a reporter for the US-funded internet and radio media group Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Police detained Mr Yazmuhamedov earlier in May. Reasons for Mr Yazmuhamedov’s detention were never made public.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 136, published on May 27 2013)
MAY 22 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Kazakh officials of illegally detaining Aleksandr Kharlamov, a journalist, holding him in a psychiatric unit and falsely accusing him of inciting religious discord. HRW said Mr Kharlamov, from north-east Kazakhstan, was detained in mid-March.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 136, published on May 27 2013)
MAY 17 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Orthodox demonstrators attacked a small gay rights march in Tbilisi, injuring several activists. The attack showed Georgian society’s conservative leanings which can collide with the country’s drive towards the more liberal West. Human rights groups accused police of failing to protect gay rights activists.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 135, published on May 20 2013)
MAY 6 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Police in Turkmenistan arrested Rovshen Yazmuhamedov, a reporter for the US-funded media group Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Human rights groups said Mr Yazmuhamedov could potentially be tortured in detention. The Turkmen authorities have not responded or specified the charges against Mr Yazmuhamedov.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 135, published on May 20 2013)
MAY 15 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Ahead of a presidential election in October, parliamentarians in Azerbaijan passed a law that makes defamation on the internet a crime punishable with a prison sentence. Human rights groups criticised the move as political and said it effectively criminalised free speech on the internet.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 135, published on May 20 2013)
APRIL 30 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — A photo essay on the prominent society website voxpopuli.kz of a lesbian couple celebrating their unofficial wedding in Karaganda, an industrial city in central Kazakhstan, caused a stir. Like its neighbours, Kazakhstan’s society is conservative and homosexuals are marginalised. Homosexuality was illegal in Kazakhstan until 1997.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 134, published on May 6 2013)
APRIL 30 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbekistan released five political prisoners last year, the US reported. Human rights groups often criticise Uzbekistan, much to the embarrassment of the US and other Western countries which have made deals with the Uzbek government in return for help shifting military equipment out of Afghanistan.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 134, published on May 6 2013)
