Central Asia - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Thursday, May 23, 2013

News and Features from Central Asia

Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of Uzbek President Islam Karimov, has been implicated in a major bribery scandal. (file photo)

Gulnara Karimova Takes To Twitter Following Critical Report

A report by RFE/RL and Swedish television documenting links between Gulnara Karimova and large-scale bribery has drawn a furious response on Twitter, where the Uzbek president's daughter and her supporters have posted a flurry of tweets criticizing the report and speculating that Karimova's rivals within Uzbekistan are to blame.

Amnesty International says abusive governments can no longer use the issue of sovereignty to justify their actions.

Amnesty Report Notes Worldwide Abuses, As Well As Courage Of Activists

In a new report, the global rights group Amnesty International documents abuses in 159 countries and territories that it says were "inflicted by those in power on those who stand in the way of their vested interests."

Tajik Opposition Leader Ordered Held In Pretrial Detention

A leading Tajik opposition figure and businessman has been been ordered held in pretrial detention for up to two months.

RFE/RL Turkmen Service correspondent Rovshen Yazmuhamedov

RFE/RL Turkmen Reporter Released

A Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) correspondent based in Turkmenistan has been freed after being detained by police earlier this month.

Inmates' Relatives Protest After Reports Of Self-Mutilations

Dozens of inmates' relatives are protesting outside a maximum security prison in the central Kazakh town of Qarazhal following media reports about self-mutilations by dozens of inmates.

RFE/RL Kazakh Reporter Released

A Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) correspondent, who was detained in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, while covering a protest, has been released after spending several hours in custody.

TeliaSonera CEO Lars Nyberg (shown in January) stepped down February 1 as the company, whose two largest stakeholders are the Swedish and Finnish governments, came under increasing scrutiny for its activities in Uzbekistan.

New Documents Suggest Fresh Evidence Of TeliaSonera Ties To Karimova

Documents leaked to Swedish investigative journalists and reviewed by RFE/RL appear to offer fresh evidence of a link between Swedish telecom giant TeliaSonera and Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of the president of Uzbekistan.

Terror Suspects On Trial In Kazakhstan

Eight local men have gone on trial in Kazakhstan's western city of Atyrau on terrorism charges.

U.S. soldiers before boarding a plane on their way home from Afghanistan at the U.S. transit center at Manas in March.

Kyrgyz To Cancel Manas Deal With U.S.

The Kyrgyz government has decided to cancel the U.S.-Kyrgyz agreement on NATO's use of a transit center at Manas International Airport near Bishkek as of July 2014.

In Kazakhstan, Spending Saturday Night In The Gulag

A museum of the Stalin-era prison camp system in central Kazakhstan has given visitors a night-time tour, where they were "treated" to prison meals and a performance of mock interrogations.