Uzbekistan
Journalist charged with illegal literaturePosted Feb 25 2007
Umida Niyazova, an Uzbekistan journalist, was arrested on January 22, 2007 after meeting her lawyer in Tashkent for possessing illegal material and being involved in the religious extremist Akromiylar group. Niyazova covered politics and human rights for the Central Asia news Web site Oasis, a project of the Moscow-based media watchdog Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations. Human Rights Watch, Freedom House and Internews Network also contribute to the site. According to Uznews.net, an independent informational Web site in Uzbekistan, Niyazova was charged with illegally crossing the boarder, smuggling and “collecting and distributing material threatening the public security.” Each of the charges can carry sentences up to 10 years in jail. Niyazova was detained on Dec. 21, 2006, when crossing from Kyrgyzstan into Uzbekistan. She was kept in detention for nine hours then released. Her laptop, passport and flash card were confiscated. According to authorities, she had information concerning the Andijan massacre including interviews with witnesses and victims, which were prohibited by the government. The events of the Andijan massacre are disputed but it is widely believed that on May 13, 2005, government soldiers shot hundreds, maybe even thousands, of protestors in the Uzbekistan city. After her arrest, Niyazova was held incommunicado for four days and then sent to Tashkent on Jan. 26, 2007, where she waits in the prison's investigation ward No. 1.