Campaign for imprisoned writers under way

International Pen, an international association of writers, is continuing its efforts to draw attention to the plight of imprisoned writers and journalists in Uzbekistan. The country, Central Asia's most populous, has one of the worst press-freedom records in the world, with at least five writers and journalists behind bars. "This is an indication of a much bigger problem in Uzbekistan," Sara Whyatt, the programme director of the Writers in Prison Committee of the UK-based International Pen, told IRIN from the Turkish commercial capital Istanbul. "We want to raise awareness among the international writing community of their colleagues in Uzbekistan." Established in 1960 in response to increasing attempts to silence voices of dissent by imprisoning writers, the Writers in Prison Committee currently monitors the cases of some 900 writers annually, comprising those imprisoned, tortured, threatened, attacked, disappeared and killed in the course of performing their professional role, and lobbies on their behalf. The advocacy group, which has 130 branches in more than 90 countries, maintains that literature, like all art, knows no frontiers and must not be subjected to national and political pressures - particularly in times of conflict. Given increasing concern over the state of freedom of expression in Uzbekistan, and the imprisonment of critics of the government, coupled with disturbing reports of torture in detention, International Pen has addressed numerous protests to the Uzbek government. On 13 October, it launched a 12-day campaign (to end on Friday) specifically citing the situation in Uzbekistan. But what impact those efforts will have on the authorities remains to be seen. Highlighting the increasing misapplication of legislation to penalise those critical of the authorities, Whyatt cited the detention of writers Mamadali Mahmudov, Muhammad Bekzhon and Yusuf Ruzimuradov, held since 1999 on allegations of terrorist acts earlier that year. "There was no evidence against them, and the trial was completely unfair," she asserted, adding that their convictions had been based solely on the three prisoners' support for the exiled opposition leader, Muhammad Salih, and their work for an opposition newspaper, now banned.

Journalist and human rights defender, Ruslan Shraripov

Another case cited by Whyatt was that of Ruslan Sharipov, a 25-year old journalist, now serving a four-year prison term for "homosexuality", a conviction widely seen as a penalty for his criticism of the country's human rights record. "His treatment in prison and trial irregularities indicate he is being punished for his opposition writing," she noted. Matilda Bogner, the office head for Human Rights Watch (HRW) in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent agreed, describing the state of press freedom in the country as extremely poor. She hoped additional efforts like International Pen's would throw more light on the problem internationally. "The press basically remains a tool of propaganda for the government here," she told IRIN. And while official censorship had reportedly been lifted in May 2002, the government continued to exert very strong control over what was said, she added. "After the announcement, there was a little bit of movement in the area of press freedom, with some journalists attempting to do more, but I don't think it has turned into any significant change in the media content more broadly," she said. Her comments follow the release earlier this week of the second world press freedom ranking by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), an international organisation for the defence of press freedom. According to the Paris-based group, Tashkent has a long way to go in addressing the problem. Independent news media were either nonexistent in these countries, or were constantly repressed by the authorities. Journalists there worked in extremely difficult conditions, with no freedom and no security. To compile this ranking, RSF asked journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists to fill out a questionnaire evaluating respect for press freedom in a particular country. A total of 166 countries are included in the ranking (as against 139 last year). The other countries were left out because of a lack of reliable, well-supported data. Of the 166 countries cited in the report, North Korea came in last at 166, with Uzbekistan ranking 154, making it, after Turkmenistan, the second-worst country in terms of press freedom in Central Asia.