Uzbekistan: attack on an employee of online press
An employee of the online press Effect.uz got into the hospital on May 13 after an attack by unknown persons during an editorial assignment. They splashed into his eyes from a gas spray and damaged his eyesight. The attackers stole the camera from the car.
Four persons attacked the operator Giyosbek Eshov after visiting the administration of Kuva district of Ferghana region. Before that, a mother of four children turned to reporters for help. She, being a disabled person, cannot receive compensation for the demolition of her house.
The editors issued a statement outlining the circumstances of the attack. “After studying the appeal of a citizen to the administration of Kuva region, the journalist and operator went to Ferghana. The journalist Elyor Tadjibaev got into the car of the complainant, and the operator Giyosbek Eshov drove ahead in his Matiz car. After some time, the operator called a colleague and reported the attack (stated in the statement). When Elyor Tadjibaev arrived at the scene, he witnessed a very unpleasant sight. Unknown persons sprayed gas into Giyosbek Eshov’s eyes and broke the windows of his car. In addition, they took away the operator’s video camera belonging to the editorial office, and then run away.”
“In addition to the stolen video camera, which is the property of the editorial office, they forgot their documents. So, we were able to find them. We have informed the operative workers of Kuva district,” said the correspondent Elyor Tadjibaev. He suggested that the people, who attacked them, could be hired by the administration of Kuva region.
Then, Effect.uz editor-in-chief, Akmalkhon Eshonkhonov, disavowed the assertion that the regional authorities were involved in the assassination attempt, noting, that Effect.uz’s editors cannot comment on the incident so as not to have an influence on the objectivity of the check. “We hope that the law enforcement authorities make a fair decision on this incident.”
The press service of the General Prosecutor’s office announced the initiation of a criminal case on the fact of the attack of the suspects on Giyosbek Eshov. The Investigative Department under the Ministry of Internal Affairs will be guided by the article 166 of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan (Robbery committed by a group of persons in previous collusion).
On April 18, the website of Effect.uz was blocked for four hours. The reason was the publication “New Uzbekistan – old problems”. It criticized the activities of the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Information Technology and Communications. No organization commented on the reason for the blocking. The work of the site was resumed after the editors deleted the article.
