FOTP 2013 Full Report

In July 2012, Uzbek state television aired a documentary that portrayed socialnetworkingwebsites including Facebook and Russia’s Odnoklassniki as “weapons of outsideforces.” The Uzbek-language version of Wikipedia was blocked by Uzbek authorities early in theyear. The blogging website LiveJournal was temporarily blocked twice in the spring, whileWordPress, a similar blogging platform used by a number of Uzbek dissidents living abroad,remains inaccessible in Uzbekistan. Several foreign-based news services, including the Uzbekversions of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), RFE/RL, and Voice of America, arealso blocked by authorities. In October, Uztelecom, the national internet service provider,blocked certain circumvention tools that had allowed users in Uzbekistan to bypass statecensorship. Approximately 37 percent of the population used the internet in 2012.Foreign media have been gradually expelled since the 2005 Andijon massacre, in whichgovernment troops killed hundreds of demonstrators, straining Uzbekistan’s relations withdemocratic countries. In separate incidents in March 2012, authorities deported two journalists—BBC correspondent Natalya Antelava and Russian photojournalist Viktoriya Ivleva—withoutexplanation following their arrival at the airport in Tashkent.Uzbekistan is among the world’s most prolific jailers of journalists. In 2012, Uzbekauthorities continued to detain four journalists for political reasons: Muhammad Bekjanov andYusuf Ruzimuradov of the opposition newspaper Erk, imprisoned since March 1999; SalijonAbdurakhmanov of the independent news website Uznews, imprisoned since June 2008; andfreelance journalist Dilmurod Saiid, imprisoned since February 2009. Bekjanov was due to bereleased in January 2012, but a court sentenced him to an additional five years in prison based onquestionable allegations that he had broken prison rules. Erk has been banned in Uzbekistan, andwhile Uznews remains active, its editor now operates from Germany. Separately, independentjournalist Jamshid Karimov, who is the president’s nephew, went missing in mid-January. Hehad been held against his will in a psychiatric clinic between 2007 and 2011, and hisdisappearance prompted concerns that he might have been detained again.According to the government, there are 663 active newspapers in Uzbekistan, as well as195 magazines, 13 periodical bulletins, 35 radio stations, and 53 television stations. Ownershipof nonstate media outlets is opaque, though journalists report that there is not a great publicdemand to know who owns various private outlets, as they all generally report the same versionof the news. The government controls most publishing houses and printing presses. A number ofregional and local television and radio stations are privately owned, and a few private printingpresses produce independent publications that avoid politically sensitive topics and have limitedcirculation. Low pay within Uzbekistan’s media industry encourages journalists to accept bribes.VanuatuStatus: FreeLegal Environment: 6Political Environment: 11Economic Environment: 8Total Score: 25Survey Edition 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012Total Score, Status 23,F 23,F 23,F 25,F 26,F404