7 bloggers and journalists were targeted by the special services for their online activity. On July 26, in Nukus, journalists from the Karakalpak online publications Makan.uz, Kruz.uz, and Kar24.uz were taken to the prosecutor’s office in the middle of the night. The reason was the reprint of the fake news publication Repost.uz about the death of the chairman of the Jokargy Kenes of Karakalpakstan Musa Erniyazov, who is now undergoing treatment for coronavirus in Tashkent.
The information in the was published in the form of a statement and a screenshot. Editor-in-chief Kumar Begniyazova Kar24.uz did not dare to repost it, which did not prevent the Nukus prosecutor’s office from interrogating her for almost four hours together with others. She willingly went to the prosecutor’s office, but at the same time, her colleagues were brought by law enforcement officers.
Makan.uz editor Lolagul Kalykhanova describes the incident as follows: “… six Damas cars appeared at the gate along with the other five vehicles. Apparently, so that I wouldn’t get scared, there was a woman among the employees. There were a lot of men in the cars in green, blue, civilian uniforms. I went to my room to change. At this time, a blogger friend called me. I told him that they were trying to pick me up in cars like this. I was scared because I had never faced such a thing in my life. Then police officers and prosecutors broke into our house wearing shoes, entered my room, and a girl in civilian uniform snatched the phone out of my hands. ”
The car was also sent for Iskandar Yusupov from Kruz.uz. Also frightened by the operatives, he voluntarily gave them a laptop and a smartphone. During interrogation, the prosecutor’s office forcibly took away the phone from the blogger Sultanbek Ziyayev.
Four officers of the district police department came to the blogger Shukhrat Saidakhmadov, not showing a summons, immediately seizing the phone and computer. They took him from the Amudarya region to the Nukus prosecutor’s office, although he published just a refutation about the death of the leader of Karakalpakstan.
The administrator of the Telegram channel Karagalpaқ 24, Berdakh Nauryzbayev, was interrogated twice – in the Department of Internal Affairs of the Bozatau region, then in the capital of the republic. Three law enforcement officers in civilian uniform confiscated from him two telephones, a laptop, and a PC.
There is no information about any actions of the security forces against the Repost.uz. According to editor-in-chief Timur Abdulin, a hacker attack was conducted on July 25. The attackers posted the news of July 20 about the death of the chairman of the Jokargy Kenes of Karakalpakstan, Musa Erniyazov. The publication was not visible on the site, but remained available for reading only via direct link.
According to the editors, this was done by unknown persons who got access to the administrative panel of one of the editors. The resonant nature of the news allowed it to quickly spread through Telegram channels, increasing the load on the servers and making it impossible to access the site’s administrative panel for its prompt removal.
The behavior of the Karakalpak security officials during night interrogations and the illegal seizure of electronic devices forced the Prosecutor General’s Office to respond due to a great public outcry. However, Deputy Prosecutor General Svetlana Artykova limited herself to comment directed at Prosecutor of Karakalpakstan Farhat Allambergenov “for the actions of the prosecutor’s office employees who called journalists for a” preventive conversation “at night and confiscated their phones and laptops.” She stated this in an interview with a local newspaper.
The excitement around the situation with the Karakalpak media workers, most likely, helped the Tashkent blogger Miraziz Bazarov avoid interrogation at the State Security Service. On July 28, he and his lawyer Sergei Mayorov were not allowed into the building of the State Security Service for an hour, then they were denied meeting with the investigator.
The summons arrived after the publications “Happy Birthday to the Great, Beloved and Respected President of the Country!” and “An Open Letter to the IMF and ADB”. In his articles, he appealed to the management of the IMF and ADB not to provide loans to the government, since there is no guarantee of its intended use. The blogger published a post on Facebook on July 29, where he noted that “some people said that (allegedly) they had an educational talk, especially with top bloggers (and we are all people and fear for the safety of ourselves and loved ones), so they write the maximum about Health Inspection Services and purchases of the Ministry of Health, and not about the main issue. ”
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