Uzbekistan human rights

Uzbek laws and their enforcement concerning online speech are overly vague and fail to differentiate between defamatory remarks and legitimate criticism of officials.

When Sharifa Madrakhimova received her passport via mail from Dublin, with her Irish visa affixed inside, the document had been rendered invalid by burns and cuts, preventing her from leaving the country.

Addressing the lack of accountability for past human rights abuses, including the 2005 Andijan massacre, has not been high on the current government’s agenda.

The 2024 harvest saw a shortage of pickers, government backtracking on positive legislation, and issues stemming from the cotton cluster system; problems rooted in continued state efforts to micromanage the industry.

As Central Asian governments tighten restrictions on the hijab in the name of upholding secularism, devout Muslim women find themselves forced to navigate an increasingly difficult choice between their faith and the law.

A draft law seeks to guard Uzbekistan’s sovereignty by ousting foreigners who incite enmity or insult the dignity of the country. 

Uzbek authorities have told Kazakh authorities that Urazbayev never officially renounced his Uzbek citizenship and therefore Kazakh authorities have revoked his Kazakh citizenship. 

A coming court verdict on the admissibility of independently verified information could have lasting negative implications for labor rights reporting in Uzbekistan.

Washington’s current approach sidesteps human rights concerns. Central Asia’s rights defenders and civic activists have suggestions to fix that.

Although there is much more freedom of speech compared to the Karimov era, ongoing attacks on bloggers and civil society activists show an alarming deteriorating dynamic in Uzbekistan.

In a new political era, boosted by social media, Uzbekistan’s publishers, translators, and book bloggers see rewarding opportunities amid the challenges.

The U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention says Otabek Sattoriy’s 2021 detention is arbitrary under international law.