Justice - The Times Of Central Asia

Viewing results 1 - 6 of 164

Uzbekistan Ends Forced Labor, But Cotton Industry Faces New Challenges

Global Voices reports that Uzbekistan has succeeded in phasing out forced labor in its cotton industry, but now faces new challenges. The country has made progress in ending forced labor and modernizing its cotton sector, driven by economic and political reasons. Forced labor hurts businesses and the nation’s international image, which the government has aimed to improve since 2016. Cotton production accounts for 12% of GDP. Since 2017, the government has introduced major reforms to modernize Uzbekistan’s cotton industry, led by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev after he took office in 2016. By 2018, labor control was strengthened, and the cotton cluster system, which controls the entire production process, began to take shape. Today, almost all cotton is grown through 142 clusters. Cotton quotas have been abolished by 2020, and the minimum wage will now be negotiated. The same year, the International Labor Organization reported that child labor was no longer a problem, and the international boycott was lifted in 2022. Eradicating forced labor has been hailed as “one of the most significant victories anywhere in the world in the battle against forced labor in the twenty-first century,” said Bennett Freeman, co-founder of the Cotton Campaign in 2022. This achievement was possible thanks to the diligence of organizations such as human rights defenders of Uzbekistan and the Uzbekistan Forum for Human Rights, which monitored the cotton fields and recorded violations, as well as the government's promptness in reviewing these reports. Global Voices writes that despite the progress achieved in Uzbekistan's cotton industry, there are still serious problems. The report states, “Despite abandoning forced labor, the government still continues to exert strong control over cotton production and prevents farmers from fully operating on their own terms.” Farmers receive resources and loans, but the system remains inefficient, with state-set cotton prices often differing from global rates. The government and industry need to address these ongoing issues while pursuing international standards and export opportunities to build trust and transparency.

Central Asia Tajikistan Justice Justice Tajikistan Local Politics International Affairs Tajikistan Tajikistan Features

Freedom of Speech in Tajikistan Discussed at OSCE Conference

The deteriorating situation for journalists and freedom of speech in Tajikistan was discussed at the plenary session of the OSCE Human Dimension Conference in Warsaw on October 2. Participants, including human rights defenders and civil society representatives, noted that arrests of journalists have become a common practice in the country. Some face harassment even outside Tajikistan. Gulnoza Said, program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists in Europe and Central Asia, said the situation with human rights and freedom of expression has reached a critical point. She said eight journalists, including Ulfatkhonim Mamadshoeva, Daler Imomali, and Khushruz Dzhumayev, are currently in Tajik prisons. Said also emphasized that the sentences handed down to the journalists are incredibly harsh, ranging from seven to 20 years in prison. Muhammadjon Kabirov, editor-in-chief of Azda TV, broadcasting from Poland, noted that Tajikistan ranks 155th on the World Freedom of Expression Index, and its authorities have created a hostile environment for the media. Kabirov also recalled the transnational repression directed against journalists abroad. In his speech, he cited the conviction of journalists such as Hikmatullo Sayfullozoda and Abdukahor Davlat, who were sentenced to long prison terms in 2015. A recent example of pressure on the independent press was the arrest of the editor-in-chief of Pike, Ahmadi Ibrohim, who has been charged with bribery and is awaiting trial. The conference also raised the issue of Tajik authorities harassing journalists and their relatives to force them to stop their activities. Interestingly, although Tajikistan had previously taken an active part in such discussions, there were no representatives of Tajikistan at this year's event. International organizations have repeatedly criticized the situation with freedom of speech in Tajikistan. Organizations such as Amnesty International and Freedom House report the constant harassment of journalists, independent media, and activists. Opposition media outlets are banned in the country, and journalists face arrests and long prison terms on charges that human rights activists call trumped-up.

Home Kyrgyzstan Lead Story Kyrgyzstan Justice Justice Kyrgyzstan Features

Kyrgyz President Applauds Son’s Golf Project Despite Questions

Kyrgyzstan is building the biggest golf course in Central Asia, President Sadyr Japarov says. The man building the golf course? Japarov’s son, Rustam. Japarov has often said that his friends and family won’t get involved in politics and government, though some media reports and critics say that he hasn’t kept his word in a country where corruption has been a longstanding concern. In an interview this week with the state-run Kabar news agency, the president stuck to his position that family members won’t get mixed up in state affairs. “I always tell them not to do business with the state. We must learn from the past,” said Japarov, who has previously said that critical media coverage of his government amounted to slander and trafficking in rumors. “Rustam is busy attracting investors. He is building a golf course in Issyk-Kul. God willing, we plan to open it next year,” said Japarov, who didn’t offer details about the project other than that “it will be the largest golf course in Central Asia.” The president also praised his son for a project that he started last year to build a football field with lighting in every village in the country. The area around Lake Issyk-Kul, where the golf course is being built, is one of Kyrgyzstan’s main tourist sites. Its attractions include beaches, hiking and ancient petroglyphs showing deer, leopards and hunting scenes. There are restaurants, wellness centers and conference facilities catering to international delegations. Telegram founder Pavel Durov was spotted there earlier this year. Japarov’s son, Rustam, drew attention in 2022 when a photo circulating on social media appeared to show him with leaders at a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a regional security group, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. At the time, the 24.kg news service questioned why he was there since he didn’t hold any government position and wasn’t part of the official Kyrgyz delegation. In June, President Japarov apologized when news emerged that the fiancé of his niece had proposed marriage after the pair traveled on a rented government helicopter to the mountains near Bishkek. The scandal got worse when the fiancé, Aftandil Sabyrbekov, was arrested on drug charges. In the Kabar interview that was published on Wednesday, Japarov also disputed any suggestion that the involvement of Taimuras Tashiev, son of a high-ranking government official, in a road project in the town of Özgön was inappropriate. Tashiev’s father is Kamchybek Tashiev, chairman of the State Committee for National Security. “Why not say thanks to Taimuras,” said the president, who regularly gives interviews to state-run Kabar while some more critical media have faced state prosecutions. “Would Taimuras introduce the company he founded if it would harm the state?”

Home Justice Life & Culture Kazakhstan Justice Kazakhstan Life & Culture Kazakhstan Features Kazakhstan Featurees Kazakhstan Home

Kazakhstan’s Youth Suicide Crisis: Unraveling the Complex Web of Societal Challenges

A wave of suicides among teenagers and young adults has swept across Kazakhstan. Parents and the Children's Ombudsman have said children were provoked to do dangerous things by the internet, and deputies have demanded that social networks should be blocked. The media, meanwhile, has been accused of creating a “Werther effect,” fixating on the rash of suicides and thus encouraging teenagers to repeat these acts of self-harm. However, experts believe the cause is much more nuanced and cannot be eliminated by blocking harmful content alone. Chronicle of a Fateful September On September 13, a teenager fell from an eighth-story window in Astana. The boy died of his injuries. The very next day, a schoolgirl plummeted from a fifth-floor window in Shchuchinsk. The 12-year-old girl is in hospital, and the causes of both incidents are still under investigation. On September 16 in Almaty, two seventh-grade students from school No. 25 named after the writer I.Esenberlin, left class and climbed to the attic of a neighbor's apartment complex. The girls both fell to their death from the roof. “I came, and I saw two girls lying there. They had jumped from the roof," an eyewitness stated. "The girls were about 13 years old; seventh graders. One had a backpack next to her, and the other had no shoes and was wearing black tights. She had taken her shoes off and placed them neatly. One fell on a car, and her body rolled away. The second was immediately killed on the asphalt.” Later, it became known that one of the girls was the daughter of a famous Almaty ecologist and artist. Deputy Interior Minister Igor Lepekha said that what happened "is a suicide; the case was opened based on it being suicide." On September 21, another schoolgirl fell from a high-rise in Almaty. Allegedly, the girl left the house to perform a routine task, but climbed to the 13th floor, from where she plunged. The Almaty Police Department confirmed the girl's death and has opened a criminal case. By this time, in schools, online, and on social networks, parents had started to spread panicked rumors about the impact on children of a particular computer game, similar to the semi-mythical game “Blue Whale.” In the past, Blue Whale has been decried as a malicious game which encourages teenagers to commit suicide and acts of violence, but no convincing evidence has ever been presented. The Almaty police stated that gossip regarding the involvement of dangerous internet games in the girls' deaths is not valid and reminded the public about their responsibility vis-à-vis spreading false information. On September 22, in the yard of a multi-story residential building in Almaty, the body of a 3rd-year cadet from the Border Academy of the National Security Committee (NSC) who was on regular leave was found. “The cause of death was a fall from a height,” the NSC press service reported. On September 23, also in Almaty, multiple sources reported that a young man had tumbled from a high-rise building. Police...

Central Asia Uzbekistan Justice Uzbekistan Justice

Alisher Usmanov Wins Court Case Against German TV Channel ARD

The Hamburg court news about Uzbek-born billionaire Alisher Usmanov was broadcast by the German TV channel ARD as unreliable. ARD accused Alisher Usmanov of creating a system of bribing International Fencing Federation (FIE) judges. According to the report, the court found the information published by the ARD channel unreliable and banned its distribution as “inappropriate news based on suspicion.” If the court order is violated, the violator will be fined up to 250,000 euros per episode or imprisoned. Alisher Usmanov’s press service highlighted that between 2022 and 2024, several European media outlets, particularly in Germany, acknowledged their inability to substantiate accusations against the businessman and signed written agreements to cease their unlawful dissemination of information. To date, approximately 30 such declarations have been made in favor of Usmanov. As a result of legal proceedings, the businessman’s legal team obtained numerous orders preventing the spread of false information by European media. “One of the most significant was the court decision issued in January 2024 to ban the statements made about Usmanov by the American magazine Forbes, which became one of the key elements in justifying the introduction of EU sanctions against him. Earlier, Usmanov also won a lawsuit against the Austrian newspaper Kurier,” the press service emphasized. The court appeal was triggered by two articles and a video report about fencing at the Paris Olympic Games, aired by Germany’s ARD channel in August 2024. In them, journalist Hans-Joachim Seppelt accused Alisher Usmanov, who stepped down as FIE president in early 2022 due to EU sanctions, of creating a system to “bribe referees.” The FIE management officially denied these accusations. According to the press service, the German Internet publication Sport1.de and the Austrian newspaper Krone.at, which republished ARD's false statements, corrected their materials at the request of Usmanov’s lawyers. However, the ARD TV channel refused to fix the inaccurate information voluntarily. “There is no evidence other than gossip spread by dubious witnesses, invented insinuations, speculation, and rumors. Respect for truth, human dignity, and the dissemination of reliable information are the foundations of the German code of journalistic ethics, which was grossly violated by the state broadcaster,” summarized lawyer Joachim Steinhöfel, representing Usmanov in court. As of August 15, 2024, Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov is the 132nd richest person in the world, with a wealth of estimated $15.4 billion.

Central Asia Tajikistan Justice Justice Tajikistan Local Politics Tajikistan Local Politics Tajikistan Features

Tajikistan Mobilizes Civil Servants for Door-to-Door Anti-Radicalism Explanatory

As reported, officials and civil servants in Tajikistan have been tasked with going door-to-door and holding explanatory talks with the population on radicalism and extremism. In the southern Khatlon region, 1,800 civil servants, including teachers, healthcare workers, and local council members, have been assigned to carry out these talks. Officials claim the primary goal of these conversations is to prevent young people from becoming radicalized. During the meetings, they discuss topics like promoting traditional women’s clothing instead of hijabs, which authorities associate with radicalism. They also ask about relatives living abroad who might be at risk of becoming extremists and encourage young people to join the army. In the first seven months of this year, campaign groups visited over 620,000 houses. At the same time, campaign groups film their interactions with people and publish reports on social networks. Critics of the government in this regard claim that officials' door-to-door visits are nothing more than intrusions into people’s homes and interferences in their personal affairs. However, officials deny this; they say that the chosen method only allows for identifying the “most vulnerable” families and is necessary to combat radicalism among young people. “The issue of radicalization in the region is alarming, especially the joining of young people to various extremist movements. There are many cases,” said Davlatali Said, the governor of Khatlon region.