Bloggers are tried and beaten in Uzbekistan

The analysis of the state of expression’s freedom in the country’s blogosphere over the past few months has shown the variability or selectivity of the authorities in relation to bloggers.

At the beginning of September, Akmal Umirzakov, the deputy in the Legislative Chamber of the Parliament, made non-parliamentary remarks against blogger Dima Kayum (a pseudonym of a resident of Ferghana region, Dilshodbek Boltaev). Phrases “If Uzbek bloggers become deputies, they will turn the parliament into a circus”, “Get off your donkey. You don’t know what the elections are” were not the most scabrous in the deputy’s Facebook text. The blogger allegedly intends to participate in the December parliamentary elections, and this caused the anger of the elected representative.

The post of Umirzakov caused a response trolling of users, after which the deputy deleted the post. Dima Kayum managed to do a screenshot and undelete the text to which almost 500 subscribers of his page responded. Sympathizers recommended him to sue the deputy, but the blogger rejected this possibility.

But the authorities arranged a demonstration lesson for the critical blogosphere, putting under the article 41 of the Criminal Code “Insult” Internet activist Nodirbek Khozhimatov for 10 days in a temporary detention center. Before the court, the district prosecutor took a statement from the blogger about the voluntary desire to “no longer write critical things”.

On September 12, for “deliberately humiliating the honor and dignity of the individual” of officials, he was taken to the cell. Journalists of the Uzbek Radio service “Liberty” spoke with the father of the convict. “The judge stood up and asked my son why he wrote such critical things about the presidential decree,” said the father of the blogger. “Then he asked ten officials who came from the district administration to stand up and say that they have claims against my son and ask the court to impose a legal punishment on him.”

The blame of the blogger was in the opinion that “famous for swearing and assault, as well as officials, who work just for show, are not worthy of such awards”. On the eve of Independence Day, President Mirziyoev signed a decree awarding the Head of Andijan region Shukhrat Abdurakhmanov with the Order of Labor Glory, and the Head of Shakhrikhan district Hikmatullo Dadakhonov with the medal “For Loyal Service”. In the summer, Abdurakhmanov called the Head of the Healthcare department “riffraff, beast and impotent”, and also he called the Minister of Health “ministrishka” and “jackal”.

Tashkent’s blogger Otabek Juraev suffered a much greater punishment for his social activity. On August 5, an unidentified man beat him with armature. Otabek arrived in Samarkand after the request of a local resident whose scammers fished out $28.500. A criminal case was opened into the attack, but the results of the investigation are unknown. Last year, a case of an attack by traffic police on blogger Lochinbek Tilaboldiev was recorded.

All this joyless picture is in dissonance with a speech of the President Mirziyoev on August 27 to the participants of the international festival “I see among you our bloggers. I am proud of it. Know that the President will always support you”. Grateful influencers then gladly replicated their selfies with the country’s leader.

ACCA has already written that the media and blogosphere of Uzbekistan is suspicious of the recent draft law on administrative sanctions for obstructing the activities of journalists and bloggers. The Agency for Information and Mass Communications (AIMC) took this initiative in a published draft law. The document was developed for a long time and now the media of Uzbekistan are stiffened in expectation of a trick: the experience of independent Uzbekistan shows that people should not expect anything good from the good intentions of their authorities; and they did not have to wait long. More recently, the Head of the AIMC Komil Allamjonov almost vowed to protect journalists and bloggers, but then he spoke more specifically. “Everyone cleans up in your own home, otherwise you will be responsible for the “stench” if it disturbs the neighbors,” the official said.