Tag Archives: law

Uzbekistan places general under house arrest

OCT. 6 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The authorities in Uzbekistan have placed a senior general under house arrest after allegations of corruption were levied against him by Gulnara Karimova, the eldest daughter of Uzbek president Islam Karimov, media reported.

If Ms Karimova is the source of the allegations it shows that she may still hold influence in Uzbekistan where she has been held under house arrest since March 2014.

The story also shows just how deep the extent of corruption in Uzbekistan is.

The interned general is Hayot Sharifhojayev, who oversaw the corruption investigation into Ms Karimova and her associates, giving her plenty of motive for revenge.

According to a report published by the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Gen. Sharifhojayev was arrested in July and has now been placed under house arrest.

The report said that he had been caught trying to sell assets which he had confiscated from Ms Karimova, although it didn’t specify what exactly he was trying to sell.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 251, published on Oct. 9 2015)

Georgia debates Marijuana

SEPT. 29 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia moved a step closer to ditch- ing prison sentences for people found with a small amount of marijuana after a parliamentary committee backed the proposal. The legal affairs committee said that it still wanted marijuana use to be illegal but not punishable with a prison sentence. Parliament is likely to vote on the issue later this year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 250, published on Oct. 2 2015)

IRPT are terrorists says Tajik court

SEPT. 29 2015, DUSHANBE (The Conway Bulletin) — Tajikistan’s High Court decreed the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) a terrorist organisation and banned it, wiping the only real opposition party from the country.

The high court statement published by the Khovar state news agency accused the IRPT of committing crimes of terrorist acts and spreading provocative materials.

Pressure on the IRPT has been building.

The General Prosecutor’s Office earlier accused the IRPT leadership of involvement in double attacks on police checkpoints last month that killed two dozen people. It said the mastermind of the attacks had been deputy defence minister Abduhalim Nazarzoda.

Police also detained Buzurgmehr Yorov, an IRPT lawyer, after he started defending 13 top party members arrested for the attacks. Mr Yorov has reportedly been charged with fraud and corruption crimes.

Earlier this year, the Tajik authorities also prosecuted Group 24, another political party that it deemed to be plotting against it.

An analyst who declined to be named said: “It is the sign of zero tolerance of any kind of political opposition, no matter whether they are religious or secular. Tajikistan has now become a one-party state.”

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 250, published on Oct. 2 2015)

Turkmenistan introduces labelling rules

SEPT. 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan introduced new labelling rules for alcoholic drinks and cigarettes, media reported. The labels are described by media as part of a drive by the authorities in Turkmenistan to protect its citizens from alcohol abuse and cigarette smoke but, in reality, it is probably more closely linked to a new tax to be imposed from next April.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 250, published on Oct. 2 2015)

Georgia jails former mayor

SEPT. 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The day after winning a case against the Georgian government for keeping him in pre-trial detention for 14 months, Gigi Ugulava was found guilty of misspending public funds when he was the mayor of Tbilisi. He was jailed for 4-1⁄2 years. Separately, a judge acquitted Ugulava of money laundering.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 249, published on Sept. 25 2015)

Turkmenistan taxes alcohol, cigarettes

SEPT. 19 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan’s parliament, a rubber-stamping chamber for President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, passed a law which will impose more tax on tobacco and alcohol. Turkmenistan has been looking to raise more tax during the current economic downturn.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 249, published on Sept. 25 2015)

Georgia passes prosecutor bill

SEPT. 16 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Parliament passed by 69-12 the second reading of a bill that will see the prosecutor-general’s position shift to a 6-year post elected by a 15-person body. Currently, the PM appoints the prosecutor-general on the advice of the minister of justice. Detractors of the bill say it is over-complicating the appointment process.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 248, published on Sept. 18 2015)

Georgia’s court rules on pretrial detention

SEPT. 16 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia’s Constitutional Court ruled that it was illegal to keep a person in pre-trial detention for more than 9 months. The ruling is a major victory for the former mayor of Tbilisi Giorgi Ugulava who is accused of corruption. He is a member of the UNM and has said the accusations are politically motivated. Mr Ugulava has been in pre-trial detention for 14 months, after one of the charges was altered.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 248, published on Sept. 18 2015)

Kazakh police arrests Kostanai governor

SEPT. 8 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Police arrested the governor of the Kostanai region in north Kazakhstan, Akhmetbek Akhmetzhanov, for corruption. Kazakh officials have arrested a handful of senior regional officials over the past year or so for corruption.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 247, published on Sept. 11 2015)

Georgian president signs banking law

SEPT. 10 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgian president Giorgi Margvelashvili signed into law a bill that switches supervision of commercial banks from the Central Bank to a state-linked body called the Financial Supervisory Body. Mr Margvelashvili tried to veto the switch but was blocked by parliament. Inter- governmental banks have criticised the switch and called it political.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 247, published on Sept. 11 2015)