The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one’s belief or religion
The right to join together and express one’s belief
UZBEKISTAN: International condemnation of Forum 18 reporter's detention grows
Igor Rotar, Forum 18 News Service's Central Asia correspondent, is still today (12 August) being held at Tashkent airport. Forum 18 has been told by reliable sources that the detention was "for political reasons at the highest levels," on the instructions of the National Security Service secret police. International condemnation of the detention is growing, as Igor Rotar is a respected religious freedom journalist. Rachel Denber of Human Rights Watch stated that "this is an ugly situation, and it is in line with the repressive measures that this government has taken against the media and freedom of religion." Alex Lupis of the Committee to Protect Journalists said that "we are very concerned for Rotar's safety and call on the Uzbek authorities to release him and to end their campaign of harassment and intimidation against the independent media." Amnesty International told Forum 18 that it "is concerned for his safety and see his detention as part of a wave of intimidation and harassment of journalists and human rights defenders by the authorities of Uzbekistan." The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and diplomats from a number of countries continue to closely follow the detention.
Reliable sources have told Forum 18 that the detention was ordered "for political reasons at the highest levels," and that the detention was carried out on the instructions of the National Security Service secret police (see F18News 11 August 2005 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=627 ).
Igor Rotar is apparently in good health, and although he has still not been permitted to communicate with anyone, he does not appear to have suffered further physical harassment. He spent the night on the floor of Tashkent airport's transit lounge, and it is believed that the Uzbek authorities originally encouraged him to buy a ticket out of the country, to avoid being seen to formally deport him.
International condemnation of the Uzbek government's detention of Igor Rotar, a respected religious freedom journalist, is growing, with a number of countries expressing their concerns about the case. Uzbek authorities continue to either deny holding Igor Rotar, or to be evasive about their actions. The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, along with other international diplomats, is continuing to closely follow developments in the case.
Eurasianet reported that international media and human rights groups are calling for Igor Rotar's immediate release unharmed, quoting both Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). "We are very concerned for Rotar's safety and call on the Uzbek authorities to release him and to end their campaign of harassment and intimidation against the independent media," said Alex Lupis, CPJ's Europe Program Coordinator.
Rachel Denber, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Europe and Central Asia division, stated that "anytime a journalist is taken into custody, there is a danger to the journalist, and to freedom of expression. This is an ugly situation, and it is in line with the repressive measures that this government has taken against the media and freedom of religion."
Amnesty International told Forum 18 that it "is concerned for his [Igor Rotar's] safety and see his detention as part of a wave of intimidation and harassment of journalists and human rights defenders by the authorities of Uzbekistan."
Larry Uzzell of International Religious Freedom Watch, a long-time friend of Igor Rotar, told Forum 18 that "this is an issue of both religious freedom and freedom of the press. I would be grateful for anything you might be able to do to help Igor. For those of you who have direct or indirect contacts in the Uzbek government, this is the time to use them. I would also encourage you to use whatever contacts you may have in Russia's establishment to try to get the Russian government to intervene in Igor's behalf." He is a Russian citizen, and the Russian Embassy in Tashkent has been following the case.
Other international human rights organisations and media outlets are following Igor Rotar's continued detention with interest.
(END)
For a personal commentary by a Muslim scholar, advocating religious freedom for all faiths as the best antidote to Islamic religious extremism in Uzbekistan, see http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=338
For more background, see Forum 18's Uzbekistan religious freedom survey at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=546
For an outline of the repression immediately following the Andijan uprising, see F18News 23 May http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=567 and for an outline of what is known about Akramia and the uprising see 16 June http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=586
A printer-friendly map of Uzbekistan is available at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/index.html?Parent=asia&Rootmap=uzbeki
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11 August 2005
UZBEKISTAN: Forum 18 reporter detained at Tashkent airport
Igor Rotar, Forum 18 News Service's Central Asia Correspondent, was this morning (11 August) detained by the Uzbek authorities on arrival at Tashkent Airport. He is still being held by the Uzbek authorities, who are forcibly preventing him from communicating with anyone. Reliable sources indicate that the detention was ordered "for political reasons at the highest levels" and that the detention was carried out by the Immigration Service and Border Guards, on the instructions of the National Security Service secret police. The Uzbek authorities are refusing to comment on the case, but the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and other international diplomats are following Igor Rotar's continuing detention closely.
10 August 2005
UZBEKISTAN: Increasing use of criminal law against Jehovah's Witnesses
Three Jehovah's Witnesses are being prosecuted under the Criminal Code for missionary activity, Forum 18 News Service has learnt. Religious minorities are normally prosecuted under the Administrative Code and the last known criminal prosecution – against a Jehovah's Witness and Pentecostal Christians – was in late 2004. All three Jehovah's Witnesses are from small congregations, which do not meet the legal membership threshold for gaining state registration. Questioned about how people from such small congregations can, under Uzbek law, meet for religious activity, Begzot Kadyrov, of the state Religious Affairs Committee, told Forum 18 that congregation members must travel to towns where registered congregations exist. The nearest registered congregations for the three on trial are over 500 km. (310 miles) east of their homes. In a separate development, the largest registered Jehovah's Witness congregation may be in danger of losing its registration.
4 August 2005
KAZAKHSTAN: New "national security" law contradicts itself
Kazakhstan's new "national security" requirement that all religious activity must be registered contradicts itself, Forum 18 News Service has been told. Both Professor Roman Podoprigora, a legal expert, and Aleksandr Klyushev, of the Association of Religious Organisations in Kazakhstan, note that Article 6-2 of the amended Religion Law, in Professor Podoprigora's words, "says that formal registration [or notification] is adequate, which directly contradicts Articles 4 and 9 of the same law, which says that juridical registration is compulsory!" Klyushev thinks that this is a legal loophole, and Professor Podoprigora believes that the contradiction arose because parliament did not notice it. Ninel Fokina, of the Almaty Helsinki Committee, argues strongly that the new Law is against the Kazakh Constitution. Religious minorities continue to voice deep anxiety. "It's as if they were playing chess with us," Valentina Volkova of the Hare Krishna community told Forum 18.