Central Asia media

Half a dozen journalists in Tajikistan have been detained in the last few months in a worrying, and wide, crackdown on media in the country.

Methodology isn’t a headline buzzword, but an improving rank certainly is -- no matter the context.

In entering a new term by suggesting constitutional reform, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev is following in the path of his dictatorial predecessor.

Nine RFE/RL journalists in Tajikistan will lose accreditation on November 1; it appears authorities have given the broadcaster the silent treatment. 

While Kazakhstan may have a more vibrant media space than Uzbekistan, the trends in each country are moving in opposite directions.

Khayrullo Mirsaidov reported corruption in a November 2017 open letter. On July 11 he was convicted of embezzlement.

Pressure on the press has increased in Central Asia’s so-called island of democracy.

Astana consulted journalists on revisions to the country's media law, and then ignored their recommendations.

Human Rights Watch and the BBC’s Uzbek service are getting access to the country again.

Similar cases against RFE/RL were dropped in May, but a local Kyrgyz media outlet remains under legal pressure.

In an already underreported region, journalists face jail simply for doing their jobs.