The fugitive wife and son of one of the government's most outspoken critics tell RFE/RL that their jailed family members have been tortured, including forcing the brothers to watch each other get beaten.
Called "the worst place in the world" by a major Western newspaper, Karakalpakstan suffers from massive poverty, unemployment, and environmental devastation. Shadowy blame the Uzbek government for those woes and are raising their voices.
Activists are working to publicize the use of forced labor and persuade clothing companies to boycott Uzbek cotton, harvested by some 450,000 children each year.
The overnight posting of an anti-Islamic film by a right-wing Dutch politician has sparked widespread condemnation and fears of a backlash.
The conflict between the the Islamist-rooted ruling party and the secular establishment has deepened as each side accuses the other of acting outside the law.
Western media have called it "revolutionary," "radical," even "21st-century Islam." But according to those involved, Turkey's project to reinterpret the Hadith, Islam's second-most-sacred source after the Koran, is anything but radical.
A rare visit to Uzbekistan by the Turkmen president underscores improving relations. It also sheds light on how both gas-rich countries can profit by putting past divisions aside.
One of the Soviet Union's great dissident artists was stabbed to death last year in Tashkent. But the show goes on at Mark Weil's Ilkhom Theater, which is still inspiring audiences in the Uzbek capital -- and this week kicks off a U.S. tour.
Conflicting reports of a potential deal on a NATO troop presence in Uzbekistan have spawned talk of a delicate thaw with the West that could raise Russia's hackles and prompt a backlash from rights groups.
Trade and tourism are booming between the former foes, highlighted by deals signed during the Iranian president's historic visit to Baghdad. But not everyone is happy about an apparent imbalance.
Scores of portraits of late President Sapamurat Niyazov -- who created one of the world's most bizarre cults of personality -- are being removed from public. Yet there are concerns that his successor might be creating a personality cult of his own.
Tashkent recently freed six rights activists who were jailed after the bloody events in Andijon in 2005. It comes ahead of a decision by Brussels on reimposing a visa ban on top Uzbek officials. Is EU engagement working?
A liter of gasoline used to cost Turkmen drivers about as much as a loaf of cheap bread. But a new rationing scheme marks the president's first departure from populism and could signal a true break with perks of the past.
President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has announced the imminent release of 1,269 prisoners on the eve of a national holiday. But not a single jailed dissident or political activist made the list.
Uzbek President Islam Karimov met today with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, on Karimov's first trip abroad since his controversial reelection in December to a third term as president.
Most observers say the president's daughter has a long way to go if she wants to become a prominent figure in government. Her new job might be a step in that direction.
Once friendly with Tashkent, the West put its relations with Uzbekistan into deep freeze following the 2005 Andijon massacre. But memories of that tragedy might be fading with signs of rapprochement.
The girlfriend of a former British ambassador to Tashkent is staging her life story in a London theater. While the ex-stripper says her performance is an attempt to change her image, it also shines a bright light on Uzbekistan's brutal government.
International pressure on Uzbekistan for its use of child labor in its cotton industry has been building for months. Now, it appears to have reached a tipping point.
Uzbek President Islam Karimov's reelection appears a foregone conclusion despite two previous terms that many think should disqualify him.
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