Uzbekistan: authorities forced to delete publications about the head of Ferghana region
On June 2, a number of online editions deleted articles concerning the conflict between the population and the head of the administration of Ferghana region, Shukhrat Ganiev, in Sokh district of Ferghana region. The head promised to wipe the village of Sokh off the map. Residents of the region became furious over the governor’s threats against them (at the moment of writing the material, the link remained working). They demanded his resignation, protesting against neglect of socio-economic problems. Information about this was available to users for several hours and then disappeared.
According to available information, eight leading news agencies wrote about it, and then deleted it under pressure from the authorities. Instead of it, there were texts with headlines like “Abdullah Aripov said that Shukhrat Ganiev and other chairmen had assisted in improving the situation in Sokh”.
“The prime minister also interceded for the head of the region, and this was another occasion for attacks on freedom of speech. Journalists can sting the khokim of the region, but Abdulla Aripov is untouchable for them, and they will not want to go against him,” the ACCA expert commented on the situation.
The Presidential Information and Mass Media Agency has disowned pressure. The editor-in-chief of Daryo.uz, Mukhrim Azamkhujaev, with a hidden reproach to the authorities, explained to the journalist of Uzbek service of BBC that the reason for the disappearance of the article was due to technical problems.
Seven months ago, journalists of the media spoke about the lack of censorship and were optimistic in their work.
Last year, Shukhrat Ganiev became famous for his phrase that officials would read a memorial prayer to a blogger who wrote about the protests.
According to the press service of the supervisory authority, on December 2, 2019, during the meeting, the governor of Ferghana region, Shukhrat Ganiev, really used some rude expressions and insults. Moreover, according to the Code of Criminal Procedure, prosecutors didn’t see a real threat to human life.
“The governor won his war on the net. The media community remained the losers, and Uzbekistan could no longer prove its ability to improve international ratings in terms of freedom of speech,” the ACCA expert concluded.
