During a deadly crisis in Uzbekistan's autonomous region of Karakalpakstan this summer, a glance at the private website Gazeta.uz revealed telltale signs of state censorship, says an article by Chris Rickleton posted on Radio Liberty’s website on November 13.
“Analysis: What Are The Red Lines For The Media In Central Asia?” says underneath the headlines of articles related to the unrest that left more than 20 people dead, a sentence reading "Material deleted" had reportedly replaced texts that were visible just hours earlier.
The articles were reinstated quickly after criticism from users and Gazeta.uz's report last week on a critical assessment of the security forces' handling of the protests that was published by Human Rights Watch (HRW). The report has surprisingly not been removed since it was posted.
But the censorship episode reportedly highlighted the shifting "red lines" for independent media in Central Asia, where the environments range from Turkmenistan, where no free reporting is tolerated, Kyrgyzstan, where the normally vibrant independent media experiences periodic crackdowns.
Described by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) as "an exception in Central Asia, as it enjoys relative freedom of expression and of the press, despite an unstable economy and rampant official corruption," Kyrgyzstan placed 72nd out of 180 countries in the group's media-freedom index for 2021.
The article, however, notes that Kyrgyz press is also under pressure. The latest turn by authorities against independent journalism reportedly began in January, when riot police raided the office of investigative journalist Bolot Temirov, bringing him before a judge on narcotics charges. Two separate charges — of forging state documents and illegally crossing a state border — swiftly followed.
In September, Temirov won a partial acquittal, but the prosecutor has challenged the verdict.
Last month, attacks on the free media deepened after the government froze the bank account of RFER/L's Kyrgyz Service, Azattyk, and ordered its website to be blocked — acts that local and foreign media rights organizations described as attempts to silence the outlet's reporting.
In Kazakhstan, users reported problems accessing the website of RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, Azattyq, after the service published an interview with Geneva-based journalist Agathe Duparc, who co-authored a report examining the foreign business interests of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and his family.
The article notes that in Tajikistan, things are moving in the other direction, with arrests and convictions of independent bloggers and journalists on trumped up charges considered commonplace.
Observers have attributed the latest crackdown in Tajikistan to the government's desire to control the narrative surrounding the security operation launched in the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO).
Tajikistan’s independent media outlet, Asia Plus, warned its readers in the first days of the conflict that it would not be able to give the events the coverage its readership deserved, noting that it had been informed by authorities that its coverage was "unilateral" and threatened national stability. If the outlet did not "eliminate these shortcomings" it would be shut down, it quoted officials as saying.
