The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan decided not to extend the accreditation of journalist Agnieszka Pikulicka. The information of the official representative states that “in connection with the cases of violation of the legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan by the journalist of the TV channel “Al Jazeera” A. Pikulicka-Wilczewska, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided not to extend her accreditation”.
“The decision shows anger and a desire to take revenge on the journalist for disclosing the fact of harassment in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which dealt a sensitive blow to the country’s image,” concludes the ACCA expert. “In addition, Pikulicka’s publications in Western media about the situation in Uzbekistan irritated the authorities.”
Earlier, ACCA wrote about how for several months the journalist was sexually harassed by an employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition, he demanded a positive content from Uzbekistan. Agnieszka reported this on a social network, giving the details of the persecution. Then the curator-official did everything not to extend her accreditation. After the outbreak of the scandal, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs backed down, apologized and extended the work permit.
Another reason for the current persecution was the principled position of Agnieszka in the case of the blogger Miraziz Bazarov. The authorities saw the discrediting of law enforcement agencies in her outrage about pressure on her close friend, who was interrogated at the Department of Internal Affairs of Tashkent.
On April 1, the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs issued a special statement asking “What is the purpose for this woman in disseminating information that doesn’t have a truthful basis, causing hostility to government agencies, negative and biased information in foreign media about our country?” Further, the anonymous authors of the text threateningly clarified that “We will come back to this issue…”
Agnieszka herself reacted to the refusal of the Ministry of Internal Affairs with posts on social networks, urging readers to perceive them as “a short story about repressions in New Uzbekistan”. In particular, she noted that “the people, who have worked with me and have followed me for the past three years, know that this is an attempt to silence me and a sign that little has changed in the country. They also know that it will not stop me from speaking up about injustice and human rights violations in Uzbekistan.”
“The refusal to extend the accreditation of Agnieszka, one of the few foreign journalists in the country, is disappointing. Freedom of the media means supporting and protecting journalists, even if what they write is critical or controversial. Journalists need to be protected, not pressured,” wrote the British Ambassador to Uzbekistan Tim Torlot.
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