Central Asia

Tajik journalists near Kokhi Somon, the presidential residence, in Dushanbe in July 2021. Journalists and rights groups say that the space for independent media in Tajikistan is shrinking as criminal cases against reporters are on the rise, fostering self-censorship and democracy backsliding. © IWPR Central Asia

Tajikistan’s Turn of the Screw Against Media

Crackdown has turned journalism into a dangerous profession in the Central Asian nation.

3 May 23

Women dance to mark Navruz in Baysun, a village in Uzbekistan’s south-eastern region of Surkhandarya. The village is known for its festival, the Baysun Bahori, meaning Spring of Baysun. © Abdulkhak Turgunov

Celebrating Navruz, the Spring Jubilee

Communities gather to prepare sweetmeats, spring clean their neighbourhoods and play equestrian games.

5 Apr 23

Russia’s media regulatory body is demanding that a range of Kazak outlets censor content related to the war in Ukraine. © Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Russia Demands Kazak Outlets Censor Ukraine Reports

“It could be described as an attempt against the sovereignty of Kazakstan’s media.”

16 Mar 23

Tajikistan: Authorities Arrest Bloggers for “Immorality”

Harassment for posting allegedly obscene content seen as a means to further shrink freedom of speech.

14 Mar 23

(L to R) Natalia Tsoi, boxing referee from Kazakstan; Farida Abdueva, Muay Thai fighter from Kyrgyzstan; Shoira Zulkaynarova, boxer from Tajikistan; Aziza Yakubova, boxer from Uzbekistan. © Courtesy of N. Tsoi, F. Abdueva, S. Zulkaynarova and A. Yakubova.

Central Asia: Fighting, Inside and Outside the Ring

Women who dream of taking on combat disciplines have to first defy conservative traditions.

8 Mar 23

1. A collage of all Kyrgyzstan's presidents since the country became independent in 1991. In mid-February 2023, Sadyr Japarov gathered his predecessors in a secret meeting in Dubai in what he called a unifying gesture; critics however maintain it was a populistic move. © Office of the President of Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyz President’s Secret Meeting with Predecessors Causes Controversy

Critics deem mysterious summit, presented as a gesture of unity, as simply a populist move.

7 Mar 23

A photo collage with 12 of the 24 Kyrgyz activists detained for protesting against the agreement Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan signed to finalise the border demarcation. The deal includes a land swap that assigns to Uzbekistan the Kampir-Abad water reservoir. © Kloop.kg

Kyrgyzstan Seals Border Deal, Dissenters Remain in Jail

Protests against the land swaps the agreement entails have led to a heavy-handed response.

9 Feb 23

A screenshot of the trial against Bolot Temirov, Kyrgyzstan's most prominent investigative journalist, who was deported from Bishkek to Moscow in November 2022. on charges of illegal documents. Temirov, founder of investigative YouTube channel “Temirov Live”, holds both Kyrgyz and Russian citizenship. He was arrested in February 2022 for illegal use and detention of drugs, charges he said were bogus. © Temirov Live

Kyrgyzstan’s Shrinking Space for Independent Journalism

A draconian draft media law and rising numbers of criminal investigations against journalists signal an authoritarian turn.

6 Feb 23

Uzbekistan’s state prosecutor requested long jail terms for 22 activists and journalists accused of fomenting the July unrest that shook Nukus, the administrative centre of Uzbekistan's north-western region of Karakalpakstan in July 2022. © Uzbekistan's Supreme Court

Prosecutor Demands Long Sentences for Karakalpakstan Protesters

Trial of 22 defendants enters final stages amid concerns of bias and lack of transparency.

20 Jan 23

A mosque in the village of Karakemer, in Kazakstan’s south-eastern Jambyl province. Kazakstans laws foresee that citizens can be punished for dissemination of religious materials, even if they are of a non-extremist nature. This even extends to selling a copy of the Quran or the New Testament on classified sites. © Petr Trotsenko RFE/RL

Kazakstan: Fined for a Book of Bible Stories

Citizens can be punished for dissemination of religious materials, even if of a non-extremist nature.

13 Jan 23

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